Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B390 combination, with the data showing a system that is decisively constrained by its graphics solution. Across all tested resolutions and presets, the measured frame rates remain low, positioning this combo firmly in the lower echelon of tested configurations. The following analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, playable settings, and the distinct roles played by the CPU and GPU in shaping this performance profile.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 51 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 38 FPS, a decrease of 13 frames, and at 4K Low, the average falls to 25 FPS. This pattern of significant frame loss with each step up in pixel count confirms that the Intel Arc B390 is the primary limiting component; its rendering throughput simply cannot keep pace with the increasing pixel workload.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher preset levels. Moving from 1080p High (32 FPS) to 1440p High (24 FPS) represents a 25% reduction in frame rate, and the jump to 4K High yields just 16 FPS—a 50% drop from the 1080p figure. This non-linear degradation suggests that the GPU's memory subsystem and compute resources are being saturated well before the CPU can become a factor. The Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable of feeding frames at these rates, but the Arc B390 is unable to translate that CPU headroom into higher visual output.

At the Ultra preset, the situation borders on unplayable at any resolution. The 1080p Ultra average is 23 FPS, which falls to 17 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 11 FPS at 4K. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 28 FPS (51 vs 23), highlighting how dramatically the graphics card's performance collapses under the load of higher-quality shadows, textures, and post-processing effects. The data strongly indicates that resolution scaling is governed entirely by the GPU's fill rate and shader performance, with no evidence of CPU bottlenecking at any tested setting. For users targeting higher resolutions, the only path to playable frame rates would involve drastic reductions in graphical fidelity, as the 4K Medium average of 19 FPS and 4K Low average of 25 FPS remain below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is found at 1080p with Low settings, where the average FPS of 51 provides the only instance of fluid motion in the entire dataset. This preset strikes the best balance between visual clarity and responsiveness, though it requires significant sacrifices in texture quality and shadow detail. The 1080p Medium preset, averaging 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate consistency, but it falls short of the 60 FPS target that many players consider ideal.

At 1440p, the data shows that even Low settings (38 FPS) fail to deliver a consistently smooth experience, while Medium (29 FPS) and High (24 FPS) are firmly in slideshow territory. The 4K resolution is effectively off-limits for this combination, with the best-case scenario being 25 FPS at Low settings—a figure that would be tolerable only for turn-based or slow-paced gameplay, not the action-oriented world of Red Dead Redemption 2. The Ultra preset offers no redeeming value at any resolution; the highest average across all three resolutions is 23 FPS at 1080p, which is inferior to the Low preset at 1440p.

Benchmark results indicate that users should prioritize resolution over settings. Dropping from 1080p High (32 FPS) to 1080p Low (51 FPS) yields a 59% improvement in frame rate, whereas moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low (38 FPS) only provides a 25% penalty. Therefore, the recommended configuration is 1080p Low for gameplay, with 1080p Medium as a compromise for those who accept sub-40 FPS averages. Enabling any form of upscaling or resolution scaling, if available in the game's options, would likely be the only way to approach higher visual quality without sacrificing frame rate, though the data does not include such measurements.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B390 ranks at position 2568 out of 2902 total combos. This places it in the bottom 11.5% of all tested systems, a sobering statistic that underscores the severe performance deficit imposed by the graphics card. The combo's rank is a direct reflection of the GPU's position in the broader hardware landscape; the Arc B390's percentileVsAllGpus score of 9 indicates it outperforms only 9% of all GPUs in the database, while the CPU's percentileVsAllCpus score of 81 places it in the top 19% of processors.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU rankings is stark. The Ryzen 7 5800X, with its avgBenchmarkScore of 29123, sits within 0.5% of rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940), demonstrating that the processor is a competitive mid-range part. In contrast, the Arc B390's avgBenchmarkScore of 1482 places it alongside legacy mobile parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and GT 625 OEM (1446), with deltas of just 1.3% to 2.7%. This GPU is performing at a level comparable to integrated graphics from over a decade ago, which explains why the combo's overall rank is so poor despite having a capable CPU.

The data suggests that the combo's ranking is entirely dictated by the GPU, as the CPU's performance headroom is never utilized. In a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its demanding graphics, the 5800X could drive significantly higher frame rates if paired with a stronger graphics card. As it stands, the combo's rank of 2568 out of 2902 indicates that nearly 89% of tested systems deliver better performance, making this configuration suitable only for low-resolution, low-fidelity gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The measured data shows that 1080p with Low settings yields the highest average FPS at 51. This is the only configuration that approaches smooth gameplay, as all other resolution/settings combinations fall below 40 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it within 2.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443) and 1.3% of the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), indicating performance on par with very old, low-end graphics solutions.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU's benchmarks, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15476 and a Passmark multithread score of 27732, are far higher than what the GPU can utilize. The frame rates are limited entirely by the Arc B390's rendering capabilities.

Q: Can this combo run the game at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but the data shows that even at Low settings, the 4K average FPS is only 25, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. At Medium and Ultra, the averages drop to 19 and 11 FPS, respectively.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2568 out of 2902 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11.5% of all systems evaluated for Red Dead Redemption 2.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer any benefit at 1080p?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 23 FPS, which is lower than the Medium preset at 1440p (29 FPS) and significantly lower than Low at 1080p (51 FPS). The visual quality gain does not justify the massive frame rate penalty.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant constraint in this system. With a 3nm process node and the Xe3-LPG architecture, it features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its boost clock of 2500 MHz and base clock of 300 MHz contribute to a theoretical FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS, yet the measured results in this game fall far short of what that specification might suggest. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, combined with its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, paints a clear picture of a part that is severely underpowered for modern gaming.

The graphics card's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture, coupled with a system-dependent bandwidth, creates a significant bottleneck in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its large textures and open-world streaming demands. The data shows that increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K at the same settings results in roughly a 50% drop in frame rate (e.g., 51 to 25 FPS at Low), which is consistent with a GPU that is struggling with both compute and memory bandwidth limitations.

The GPU's nearest rivals—the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—are all parts from a bygone era, with delta percentages ranging from 1.3% to 2.7% relative to the Arc B390. This puts the Arc B390 in the same performance class as entry-level mobile GPUs from over a decade ago, making it unsuitable for any demanding title at reasonable settings. The 80W TDP and IGP slot width suggest this is intended for low-power, integrated scenarios, but its performance in this game is so low that it effectively nullifies the capabilities of the Ryzen 7 5800X.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is a high-performance processor that is completely underutilized in this configuration. Based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer) built on a 7nm process, it offers 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide ample bandwidth for gaming workloads. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15476, a Geekbench multicore score of 11036, and a Passmark multithread score of 27732. Its 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs places it well above the median, with an average benchmark score of 29123 that is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT.

In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and AI logic. The data shows that the CPU is never the limiting factor, as frame rates remain low even at 1080p Low where the CPU would be most likely to bottleneck. The 5800X's 16 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game's workload, and its single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 singlecore score of 1574.5) ensures that even lightly-threaded tasks are processed efficiently. However, none of this matters when the GPU can only deliver 51 FPS at best.

The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and Intel Core i5-13500HX, have average scores that are within 0.5% of the 5800X, confirming that it is a competitive part despite being released in 2020. Yet in this combo, the CPU's potential is wasted. The measured FPS data shows that the Ryzen 7 5800X could likely drive twice or three times the frame rates if paired with a GPU that had even a fraction of its capability. The bottleneck is so severe that the CPU's performance characteristics—its 4.70 GHz boost clock, 8 cores, and 32 MB L3 cache—are irrelevant to the final outcome. This is a textbook case of a powerful processor being held back by a woefully inadequate graphics card.