Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents an extreme stress test for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and Intel Arc B370 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is overwhelmingly constrained by the graphics processor. With the Arc B370 holding a 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs, the data shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation as pixel count increases, moving from playable-at-best 1080p results to slideshow-level frame rates at 4K.

The performance delta from 1080p to 4K is stark. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 47 FPS at 1920x1080 to 23 FPS at 3840x2160 — a drop of more than half. Moving to Medium settings, the decline is from 35 FPS down to 17 FPS, again a reduction of just over 50%. High settings show a similar trajectory: 29 FPS at 1080p collapses to 14 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at any resolution, with the 1080p average of 21 FPS dropping to just 10 FPS at 4K. This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as the frame rate drops almost proportionally with the increase in pixel count — a classic sign of fill-rate and shading-unit saturation rather than CPU bottlenecking.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly punishing. At Medium settings, 1440p delivers 26 FPS while 4K delivers 17 FPS. The 1080p to 1440p transition is less severe but still significant: 35 FPS to 26 FPS. This suggests that even at 1440p, the Arc B370 is already operating near the edge of its capability, and the additional 2.25x pixel workload at 4K pushes it into unusable territory. The data indicates that for this combination, 1080p is the only resolution where the GPU can maintain frame rates approaching smooth gameplay, and even then, only at lower presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable pattern that identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the drop from 47 FPS to 35 FPS to 23 FPS across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively shows a 51% reduction from the lowest to highest resolution. This is slightly better than the 55% reduction seen at High settings (29 to 22 to 14 FPS), which suggests that the Low preset reduces some of the shading load enough to partially offset the pixel-count penalty.

The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling behavior. With 35 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K, the frame rate drops by roughly 26% going from 1080p to 1440p, then another 35% going from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling is expected from a GPU that has only 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs — the pixel throughput and texture sampling rates are simply insufficient for higher resolutions.

Ultra settings make the resolution scaling even more pronounced. The 21 FPS at 1080p drops to 16 FPS at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then collapses to 10 FPS at 4K (a 38% reduction from 1440p). The data suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects — likely higher shadow quality, draw distance, and post-processing — amplify the GPU's workload disproportionately at higher resolutions. The fact that 4K Ultra produces a 10 FPS average indicates that the Arc B370 is completely overwhelmed, likely hitting limits in both pixel fill rate (48.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (96.00 GTexel/s).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers the only combination that approaches acceptable playability, with a 47 FPS average. This is the sole configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 40 FPS. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which relies heavily on atmospheric effects and detailed environments, this is a significant visual compromise, but the data shows it is the only way to achieve smooth motion.

The Medium preset at 1080p is the next viable option, producing a 35 FPS average with a minimum of 30 FPS. This minimum frame rate is important — it indicates that the frametime consistency is reasonably stable, avoiding the severe hitches that would occur if the average were propped up by occasional highs. The maximum of 40 FPS shows there is some headroom, but the 30 FPS floor means that the experience will be playable but not consistently smooth.

At 1440p, the Low preset produces 35 FPS, which is equivalent to the 1080p Medium result. However, the minimum frame rate is not recorded for 1440p Low, so stability cannot be fully assessed. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 26 FPS with a 22 FPS minimum, which is borderline for action sequences. The data advises that 1440p should only be attempted with Low settings, and even then, users should expect variable performance.

All 4K presets are effectively unplayable. The highest 4K result is 23 FPS at Low settings, which falls below the threshold for acceptable motion fluidity in a game that features rapid camera movements during horse riding and gunplay. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended — the 1080p Ultra result of 21 FPS is lower than the 1440p Low result of 35 FPS, making it a strictly inferior choice.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the decisive factor in this combination's performance. With a 3 nm process, a base clock of 300 MHz, and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, the GPU operates with 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta). This context is crucial: the Arc B370 is performing at a level comparable to GPUs from over a decade ago.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which introduces variability based on the system's RAM configuration. In Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for requiring substantial video memory at higher settings, this shared memory architecture likely contributes to the severe performance drops at higher presets. The Ultra preset at 4K producing a 10 FPS average suggests that the GPU is not only fill-rate limited but potentially memory-bandwidth limited as well.

The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s provide theoretical maximums that are far below what modern discrete GPUs offer. At 4K resolution, the pixel workload is 8.3 million pixels per frame (3840 x 2160). At 14 FPS average for High settings, the GPU is processing approximately 116 million pixels per second, which is well below the 48 GPixel/s theoretical peak — indicating that the bottleneck lies elsewhere, likely in shader throughput or memory bandwidth. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS is modest, and it shows in the frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates 1080p is the only viable resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 47 FPS, and Medium achieves 35 FPS. 1440p results range from 16-35 FPS depending on settings, while 4K results range from 10-23 FPS, all below playable thresholds.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so poorly at all resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset produces 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K. The Arc B370 has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, which are insufficient for the increased shadow, draw distance, and post-processing demands of Ultra settings. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking confirms its limited capability.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 (1168) is 1.4% slower.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700 CPU limiting performance in this game?

A: The data does not support CPU limitation. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the Ryzen 7 5700 scores 20655 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2916 in singlecore, placing it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rate drops proportionally with resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU bottlenecking.

Q: What minimum frame rates can be expected?

A: Minimum frame rates are only recorded for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 30 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 22 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum falls to 15 FPS. Other presets do not have minimum data recorded.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a capable processor that is not the limiting factor in this combination. With 8 cores and 16 threads, base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, it provides ample compute resources. The CPU scores 20655 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2916 in singlecore, with a 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25530, -0.1% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (25485, 0.1% delta), and AMD Ryzen 5 6600H (25550, -0.1% delta).

The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for game logic and asset streaming. The 3DMark multi-threaded scores show strong scaling: 1762 for 2 threads, 3382 for 4 threads, 5585 for 8 threads, and 6617 for max threads. This indicates good thread utilization, but the game's frame rates do not improve with CPU headroom — they are capped by the GPU.

The evidence for CPU non-bottlenecking is clear from the frame rate patterns. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain similar across resolutions or drop less steeply. Instead, doubling the pixel count from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 25-30%, and going to 4K reduces them by another 35-50%. This is a textbook GPU-bound scenario. The Ryzen 7 5700's single-thread performance, as measured by the 3DMark single-thread score of 901 and Cinebench R23 singlecore of 2916, is more than adequate for Red Dead Redemption 2's engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the best result with an average of 47 FPS. Medium follows at 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 40. High produces 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 21 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 26 FPS, showing that each preset step costs approximately 6-8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low achieves 35 FPS, which matches the 1080p Medium result. Medium drops to 26 FPS with a 22 FPS minimum and 30 FPS maximum. High produces 22 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16 FPS. The 1440p results are consistently 25-30% lower than their 1080p counterparts, reflecting the increased pixel workload.

At 3840x2160, Low is the only preset to break 20 FPS, achieving 23 FPS. Medium produces 17 FPS with a 15 FPS minimum and 20 FPS maximum. High drops to 14 FPS, and Ultra collapses to 10 FPS. The 4K results show that this combination cannot handle the resolution regardless of settings — even the lowest preset fails to reach 25 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data across all resolutions. This reveals an interesting pattern: at 1080p Medium, the range is 30-40 FPS (a 10 FPS spread); at 1440p Medium, the range is 22-30 FPS (an 8 FPS spread); at 4K Medium, the range is 15-20 FPS (a 5 FPS spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is hitting consistent limits rather than experiencing variable load spikes.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the bottom 8% of all systems, a position that aligns with the GPU's 5th percentile ranking. The CPU's 78th percentile ranking is effectively wasted in this pairing, as the Arc B370 cannot translate the processor's capabilities into frame rate.

This ranking disparity between CPU and GPU performance creates a notable imbalance. The Ryzen 7 5700's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20655 is competitive with mid-range desktop processors, while the Arc B370's 3DMark score of 1184 is comparable to entry-level GPUs from the early 2010s. The data shows that in this game, the combo rank is almost entirely determined by the GPU, as the CPU has ample headroom that goes unused.

For context, the Arc B370's nearest GPU rivals — the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770 — are products from an era when 1080p gaming was the standard and 4K was not a consideration. This explains why the combo struggles so severely at higher resolutions. The ranking of 2670 out of 2902 means that only 232 tested combinations perform worse, and those are likely systems with even older or more integrated graphics. The data suggests that this combo is suitable for 1080p gaming at Low to Medium settings, but it is not competitive for higher resolutions or more demanding presets in Red Dead Redemption 2.