Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a severely GPU-limited experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with the measured frame rates placing this configuration in the bottom tier of all tested combos. The data indicates that while the eight-core processor is more than capable of feeding frames, the integrated-class graphics solution is the primary bottleneck across every resolution and setting tested.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic pattern of GPU saturation, where performance degrades predictably as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 47 FPS average, which drops to 35 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 23 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 51% decrease from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the rendering pipeline is entirely dependent on the Arc B370's throughput.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. Moving from 1080p High to 1440p High sees the average FPS fall from 29 to 22, a 24% reduction, while 4K High drops to 14 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K. This 52% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra confirms that the frame rate is bound almost entirely by the GPU's pixel and texture processing capabilities.

The gap between Low and Ultra at any given resolution highlights the same bottleneck. At 1080p, the difference between Low (47 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) is 26 FPS, a 55% reduction in performance. At 1440p, the spread narrows slightly to 19 FPS (35 vs 16), and at 4K it compresses to 13 FPS (23 vs 10). This compression at higher resolutions is characteristic of a GPU that is already at its computational ceiling, where additional settings changes have diminishing absolute impact.

The 5800X's role in this scaling is minimal. With 8 cores and 16 threads running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost up to 4.70 GHz, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The benchmark results show that the frame rates drop linearly with resolution, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The Arc B370's 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate are simply insufficient for the demands of Red Dead Redemption 2 at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For playable frame rates, the data points unequivocally to Low settings as the only viable option. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 47 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration that approaches smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 35 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users but represents a 26% performance penalty compared to Low.

The Medium preset at 1440p produces 26 FPS average with a minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS, placing it in marginal territory. The 4K Medium setting averages just 17 FPS, which is not suitable for real-time gameplay. The High preset at any resolution fails to reach 30 FPS, with the best case being 29 FPS at 1080p.

Ultra settings are effectively unplayable across all resolutions. The 1080p Ultra average of 21 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 16 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 10 FPS represent a slide show rather than a game. The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over quality, as 1080p Low at 47 FPS is a substantially better experience than 1440p Medium at 26 FPS or 4K Low at 23 FPS.

The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings show the stability of the experience. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 30 FPS, which means the frame rate never dips below that threshold. At 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 22 FPS, and at 4K Medium it falls to 15 FPS. These floor values indicate that even the playable Medium preset at 1080p has limited headroom for demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable setting for this combo at 1080p?

A: Low settings at 1080p achieve 47 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate for this configuration. Medium at 1080p drops to 35 FPS average with a minimum of 30 FPS, which remains playable but with reduced headroom.

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K performance ranges from 23 FPS at Low to 10 FPS at Ultra. None of the 4K settings reach 30 FPS, so the game is not comfortably playable at this resolution.

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

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, placing it just 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X the bottleneck in this setup?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores, including 15476 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2032 in Geekbench single-core, are far above what Red Dead Redemption 2 requires. The frame rates scale directly with resolution and settings, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings average 35 FPS while Ultra averages 16 FPS, a 19 FPS difference. This represents a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

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

A: The combo ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's limited 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, which is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear progression from Low to Ultra. Low settings deliver 47 FPS average, Medium drops to 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS, High falls to 29 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 21 FPS. The 1080p results are the only resolution where any preset exceeds 30 FPS, and only the Low and Medium presets achieve this.

The 2560x1440 results show a significant step down. Low settings average 35 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset above 30 FPS. Medium averages 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS. High drops to 22 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs between 12 FPS (Low) and 5 FPS (Ultra), with the absolute loss being larger at lower settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal across the board. Low settings average 23 FPS, Medium averages 17 FPS with a minimum of 15 FPS and maximum of 20 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 24 FPS, meaning the game stutters even at the lowest quality settings.

The between-resolution scaling is consistent. Medium settings show the most complete data with minimum and maximum values: 1080p Medium (35 FPS avg, 30 min, 40 max), 1440p Medium (26 avg, 22 min, 30 max), and 4K Medium (17 avg, 15 min, 20 max). The minimum FPS values scale proportionally with the averages, indicating that frame time consistency is maintained even as performance degrades.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2670 out of 2902 tested combos places this configuration in the 8th percentile of all tested systems for Red Dead Redemption 2. This low ranking is driven entirely by the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1184. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 29123.

The GPU's nearest rivals illustrate its position in the market. The Arc B370 scores 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% above the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). These rivals are all legacy or integrated-class parts, confirming that the Arc B370 is positioned at the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a much healthier competitive position. The Ryzen 7 5800X scores 0.1% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093), 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940), 0.5% above the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245), and 0.5% below the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270). This places the CPU in a tightly contested mid-range segment, where performance differences are within 1% of rivals.

The disparity between the CPU's 81st percentile ranking and the GPU's 5th percentile ranking is the defining characteristic of this combo. The measured FPS data reflects this imbalance: even at 1080p Low, the system cannot reach 60 FPS, and at any higher setting or resolution, the frame rate plummets. The combo rank of 2670 out of 2902 is consistent with the GPU's bottom-tier positioning.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is a Zen 3 architecture processor built on TSMC's 7 nm process node, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz boosts up to 4.70 GHz, and it draws a TDP of 105 W. The CPU has a 32 MB L3 cache alongside 512 KB L2 and 64 KB L1 per core, with dual-channel DDR4 memory support providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The benchmark data for this CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15476 multi-core and 1574.5 single-core. Geekbench results show 11036 multi-core and 2032 single-core. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1846 at 2 threads to 7578 at max threads, indicating efficient use of its 16 threads. PassMark results include 27732 multi-thread, 3445 single-thread, and strong numbers in integer math (94969) and floating-point math (52639).

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The 5800X's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this task, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale almost perfectly with GPU load. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the data shows continuous scaling from 1080p to 4K, confirming the GPU as the limiting factor.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s and PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes provide ample data transfer capability for the system-shared GPU memory. The Arc B370 uses system shared memory, meaning the CPU's memory subsystem is directly involved in GPU memory access. The 5800X's dual-channel DDR4 configuration is adequate for this task, though the GPU's "System Dependent" bandwidth means actual performance varies with memory speed and configuration.

The CPU's 3DMark scores further confirm its capability. The 16-thread score of 7586 and 8-thread score of 6035 show strong scaling, while the single-thread score of 943 indicates good per-core performance. These results, combined with the CPU's 81st percentile ranking, demonstrate that the 5800X is not the constraining component in this combo. The bottleneck lies entirely with the Arc B370's 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate, which are insufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2's demanding rendering pipeline.