Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling at higher settings, with CPU limitations surfacing primarily at lower presets. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 195.9 FPS, dropping to 151.2 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 104.1 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 46.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical preset, the rendering load scales substantially with resolution.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced: 156.4 FPS at 1080p, 112.6 FPS at 1440p, and 77.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 50.3%, showing that the RTX 5080's workload increases more steeply as pixel count rises when more graphical features are active. At High settings, the pattern continues with 130.4 FPS at 1080p, 94.4 FPS at 1440p, and 65.1 FPS at 4K — a 50.1% reduction across the resolution range.

Ultra settings present the steepest scaling curve: 91.7 FPS at 1080p, 68.7 FPS at 1440p, and 46.6 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop of 49.2% suggests that at Ultra, the game is heavily taxing the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are the primary resources being consumed here.

The data indicates that at 1080p Low, frame rates exceed 195 FPS, which approaches the practical ceiling for many displays. The Ryzen 7 5700's 16 threads and 3.70 GHz base clock are sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution, as evidenced by the relatively modest gap between 1080p and 1440p Low (44.7 FPS difference). However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with the gap between 1440p and 4K shrinking to 47.1 FPS at Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a combo rank of 91 out of 1687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the pairing in the top 5.4% of all tested configs, indicating strong overall performance for this demanding title.

The CPU itself sits at the 84th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27220. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-9900K, scores 27043 — a delta of just 0.7%. The Intel Core i7-12700H is similarly close at 27006 (0.8% delta), as is the Intel Core i7-1370P at 26991 (0.8% delta). The AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 trails slightly at 26909, representing a 1.2% delta. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the CPU's performance class is well-established.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080 ranks in the 89th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A570M at 58239 (1.6% delta) and the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326 (-1.9% delta). The Intel Arc A580 scores 57756 (2.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X achieves 57661 (2.6% delta). These comparisons show the RTX 5080 sits comfortably in the upper tier of GPU performance.

Given that the combo ranks 91st out of 1687, the data suggests that the CPU-GPU pairing is well-balanced for this game. The Ryzen 7 5700's 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a 4.60 GHz boost clock provides adequate processing power to keep the RTX 5080 fed at most settings, while the GPU's raw throughput drives the high frame rates observed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on optimal settings for different performance targets. For players targeting 60 FPS at 4K, the High preset delivers 65.1 FPS, which comfortably exceeds this threshold. Ultra at 4K falls short at 46.6 FPS, making High the highest playable preset at this resolution. Medium at 4K achieves 77.7 FPS, offering a smoother experience with some graphical compromises.

At 1440p, the High preset produces 94.4 FPS, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium reaches 112.6 FPS, and Low hits 151.2 FPS — the latter being ideal for competitive play or 144Hz displays. Ultra at 1440p yields 68.7 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns over High.

For 1080p, all presets are playable, but the data suggests High (130.4 FPS) and Medium (156.4 FPS) offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. Low reaches 195.9 FPS, which may exceed display refresh rates for most users. Ultra at 1080p drops to 91.7 FPS, showing that even at lower resolutions, the Ultra preset's demands are substantial.

The recommendation based purely on measured data: High settings at 4K for visual quality with playable frame rates, High or Medium at 1440p for high-refresh experiences, and Medium or High at 1080p for maximum smoothness. Ultra is only advisable at 1080p if visual fidelity takes absolute priority over frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 195.9 FPS on Low, 156.4 FPS on Medium, 130.4 FPS on High, and 91.7 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 53.2% performance reduction, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra (38.7 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 151.2 FPS on Low, 112.6 FPS on Medium, 94.4 FPS on High, and 68.7 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra reduction is 54.6%, slightly steeper than at 1080p, indicating that the RTX 5080's resources are being taxed more heavily as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are 104.1 FPS on Low, 77.7 FPS on Medium, 65.1 FPS on High, and 46.6 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra drop is 55.2%, the steepest of any resolution. This suggests that at 4K, the combination of high pixel count and Ultra settings pushes the GPU to its limits, with the 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs becoming bottleneck resources.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the percentage difference between Low and High remains relatively consistent: 33.4% at 1080p, 37.6% at 1440p, and 37.5% at 4K. This consistency indicates that the graphical features enabled by the High preset (relative to Low) have similar relative costs regardless of resolution. The Ultra preset, however, shows a wider gap from High: 29.7% at 1080p, 27.2% at 1440p, and 28.4% at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, at High settings the combo averages 65.1 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium settings reach 77.7 FPS, while Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 46.6 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings produce 68.7 FPS at 2560x1440, which is above 60 FPS. However, High settings at 94.4 FPS offer a significantly smoother experience with only modest visual trade-offs.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score is 59188, which is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M (58239) and 1.9% lower than the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326). It outperforms the Intel Arc A580 by 2.5% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X by 2.6%.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 195.9 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The CPU's 16 threads and 4.60 GHz boost clock provide sufficient throughput, though frame rates this high may exceed the refresh rate of typical displays.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 4K?

A: Medium averages 77.7 FPS while High averages 65.1 FPS at 3840x2160. The 12.6 FPS difference represents a 16.2% performance gain when dropping from High to Medium.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 5700 + RTX 5080 combination ranks 91st out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 5.4% of all configurations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename), built on TSMC's 7 nm process with 10,700 million transistors on a 180 mm² die. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts to 4.60 GHz, and the CPU features a 16 MB L3 cache alongside 64 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core.

In gaming workloads like Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw call submission. The 16 threads allow for efficient multi-threading, and the benchmark data shows strong multi-threaded performance: a 3DMark 16-thread score of 6628 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655. Single-thread performance, crucial for games that rely on fewer cores, is also respectable with a 3DMark single-thread score of 901 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2916.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility make it a practical pairing for the RTX 5080, which demands a 750 W suggested PSU. The Ryzen 7 5700's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR4 is adequate for feeding the GPU's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, though the GPU clearly dominates the data transfer requirements.

The measured FPS data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at most settings. At 1080p Low, the 195.9 FPS result suggests the CPU can handle frame rates well above 144 Hz. The Ryzen 7 5700's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-9900K, performs within 0.7% on average benchmarks, confirming that this CPU generation remains competitive for gaming despite being from the 5000 series.

Given the combo's 91st rank out of 1687 configurations, the Ryzen 7 5700 contributes adequately to the overall performance. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads align well with modern game engines that can utilize multiple threads, and its Zen 3 architecture provides strong instructions-per-clock efficiency. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the data suggests the RTX 5080 is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom at lower resolutions to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.