Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a classic mid-range configuration that is clearly constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p gaming comfortably but begins to struggle significantly as pixel count increases, making resolution selection the single most important decision for owners of this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance penalty as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 50.8 FPS at 1080p to 40.7 FPS at 1440p, a decline of roughly 20%, and then plunges to 29.2 FPS at 4K, which is a further 28% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 is the primary limiting factor, as the gap between 1080p and 4K is far too large to be explained by CPU overhead.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, the spread between Low (82.6 FPS) and Ultra (38.4 FPS) is a massive 44.2 FPS, showing that the GPU is being taxed heavily by the game's visual features. At 4K, the same settings span from 42.8 FPS on Low down to a nearly unplayable 18.4 FPS on Ultra. The fact that even Low settings at 4K cannot reach 60 FPS confirms that the 6 GB frame buffer and the TU106 chip are overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels, regardless of how much graphical detail is stripped away.

Interestingly, the scaling between Medium and High is relatively modest across all resolutions, with only a 2-3 FPS difference at 1080p and 1440p. However, the jump from High to Ultra is brutal, costing roughly 12 FPS at 1080p and 11 FPS at 1440p. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive for the RTX 2060, making it the least efficient setting tier in the entire measured range.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic tests include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% faster) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (1.7% slower), placing it in a highly competitive but mid-tier position. In Red Dead Redemption 2, this translates to a card that can deliver smooth frame rates only when the resolution and settings are carefully managed.

The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p but becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 18.4, a figure that is far below the 29.2 FPS achieved at 4K High. This dramatic collapse suggests that the frame buffer is being exhausted, forcing the card to rely on slower memory operations. The base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 1920 shading units, while adequate for 1080p, simply cannot process the volume of pixel data required at 4K.

The RTX 2060's Turing architecture includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, but these features are largely irrelevant in this title's traditional rasterization workload. The passmark DirectX 11 score of 110 and DirectX 12 score of 53 indicate that the card performs better under older APIs, which aligns with Red Dead Redemption 2's engine characteristics. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 160 W TDP suggest that it is an older design, and the measured FPS data confirms that it is best treated as a 1080p-class card in this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a Zen 3 (Cezanne) processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It sits at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27220, placing it just 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-9900K and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700H in synthetic tests. This is a strong processor that is clearly not the bottleneck in this configuration.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage the game's simulation logic. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth are more than adequate for this task, especially at 1080p where the CPU has the greatest potential to limit performance. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (82.6 FPS) is the highest in the entire dataset, which suggests that the CPU can push well beyond 60 FPS when the GPU is not constrained. However, the fact that 1080p Ultra only reaches 38.4 FPS indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as soon as graphical settings are increased.

The CPU's 3DMark scores tell a similar story: 901 in single-thread and 6628 in 16-thread tests, with a cinebench R23 multicore score of 20655. These numbers indicate that the Ryzen 7 5700 has ample headroom for this game, and the data shows that its performance is not the reason for the low frame rates at higher resolutions. The processor's 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node make it an efficient choice, but its real value here is that it will not hold back the RTX 2060 at any settings level.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1371 out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 19% of all configurations. This low ranking is somewhat surprising given the respectable individual component scores, but it underscores how demanding this game is on GPU resources. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking and the GPU's 58th percentile ranking suggest that the pairing is unbalanced, with the graphics card dragging down the overall result.

The rank of 1371 indicates that most other tested combinations of CPUs and GPUs achieve higher average frame rates in this title. This is likely because the RTX 2060, while a capable 1080p card, is outclassed by more modern GPUs that can handle higher resolutions with ease. The combo's performance is heavily dependent on the resolution being used, as the data shows a wide range from 18.4 FPS at 4K Ultra to 82.6 FPS at 1080p Low. Users of this combo should expect to play at 1080p to get a satisfying experience, as anything higher will require significant compromises in visual quality.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo at 1080p are the High preset, which delivers an average of 50.8 FPS. This provides a good balance between visual fidelity and playability, though it falls short of the 60 FPS target. For those who prioritize smoothness over visuals, the Medium preset at 1080p yields 63.5 FPS, which is a much more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 1080p produces 82.6 FPS, but the visual downgrade is likely not worth the extra frames given the already playable frame rates at Medium.

At 1440p, the situation is more challenging. The High preset averages 40.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset at 1440p (48.3 FPS) is a better choice, as it offers a noticeable improvement in smoothness while still maintaining a decent level of detail. The Low preset at 1440p (64.6 FPS) is the only way to achieve a consistent 60 FPS experience at this resolution, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. For 4K gaming, the data shows that even the Low preset at 42.8 FPS is the only reasonable option, as Medium (33.2 FPS), High (29.2 FPS), and Ultra (18.4 FPS) all fall below acceptable playability thresholds.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as the measured FPS drops below 40 at 1080p and below 30 at 1440p. The performance cost of Ultra settings is disproportionate to the visual gains, making it a poor choice for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 82.6 FPS on Low, 63.5 FPS on Medium, 50.8 FPS on High, and 38.4 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 19.1 FPS drop, while Medium to High is a 12.7 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is another 12.4 FPS drop. This shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns, with each higher preset costing roughly 12-19 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 64.6 FPS on Low, 48.3 FPS on Medium, 40.7 FPS on High, and 27.5 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Medium is 16.3 FPS, Medium to High is 7.6 FPS, and High to Ultra is 13.2 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU is starting to struggle, as even Medium settings cannot maintain 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the measured averages are 42.8 FPS on Low, 33.2 FPS on Medium, 29.2 FPS on High, and 18.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 9.6 FPS, Medium to High is 4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10.8 FPS. None of the 4K presets achieve 60 FPS, and only Low settings come close to being playable. The overall pattern across all resolutions confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p only viable at Low or Medium settings, and 4K being reserved for those who prioritize visual detail over frame rate.