Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a strong, playable experience in Red Dead Redemption 2 across most settings, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K and a significant sensitivity to the Ultra preset. This pairing is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the CPU and GPU complement each other effectively, but it struggles to maintain high frame rates at the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline in performance as resolution increases, which is typical for a graphically intensive title like Red Dead Redemption 2. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 151 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that figure to 111.5 FPS, a reduction of roughly 26%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 72.7 FPS, which is a 52% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions and settings, the game is heavily reliant on the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU, and the RTX 4070 has ample headroom.

The scaling behavior changes character when the settings are increased. At High settings, the frame rate goes from 97.4 FPS at 1080p to 71.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 48.4 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is about 26%, but the gap between 1440p and 4K is a more substantial 33%. This widening gap suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases. The trend is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the frame rate plummets from 67.9 FPS at 1080p to 51.1 FPS at 1440p and then to a barely playable 33.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 49% of the 1080p Ultra performance, clearly demonstrating that the RTX 4070’s 12 GB frame buffer and compute resources are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity. The data shows that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p or solid 60+ FPS gameplay at 1440p, while 4K is viable only with reduced settings.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but not at maximum settings. The measured data shows an average of 72.7 FPS at 4K Low and 48.4 FPS at 4K High. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 33.1 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold most players prefer.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in this game?

A: The data indicates 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, it delivers 71.9 FPS, and at Low settings, it reaches 111.5 FPS. This resolution provides a good balance between visual fidelity and high frame rates, with the Ultra preset still hitting a playable 51.1 FPS average.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the Ultra preset take compared to High?

A: The penalty is substantial across all resolutions. At 1080p, the average drops from 97.4 FPS on High to 67.9 FPS on Ultra, a 30% reduction. At 1440p, it goes from 71.9 FPS to 51.1 FPS, and at 4K, it falls from 48.4 FPS to 33.1 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: Based on the resolution scaling, the CPU is more likely to be a limiting factor at 1080p with low settings, where the frame rate is highest. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, evidenced by the larger performance drops between 1440p and 4K.

Q: What kind of performance can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The benchmark results show an average of 114.2 FPS at 1080p with Medium settings. This is a very smooth experience for high-refresh-rate monitors and shows the combo has plenty of power for this configuration.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's VRAM capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. The substantial drop in frame rates at 4K Ultra (33.1 FPS) compared to 4K High (48.4 FPS) suggests that the combination of high resolution and the Ultra preset’s texture and geometry demands are taxing the memory subsystem and the GPU’s processing power.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its large open world and complex simulation logic, the multithreaded capabilities of this CPU are crucial for maintaining consistent frame pacing and avoiding stutters. The benchmark data for the CPU shows a 3dmark_16_threads score of 7586 and a passmark_multithread score of 27732, indicating strong parallel processing performance that can handle the game’s background tasks.

The CPU’s single-thread performance is also important. Its 3dmark_single_thread score of 943 and cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 3327 are solid, ensuring that the main game thread has enough processing power to direct the GPU efficiently. The data suggests that at 1080p, where the GPU has more headroom, the CPU’s ability to push frames becomes more apparent. The jump from 114.2 FPS at Medium to 151 FPS at Low shows that when the GPU is less burdened, the CPU can drive higher frame rates. However, the CPU’s percentile rank of 84 versus all CPUs places it in a strong position, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, has an average score only 0.3% different, showing that this is a well-optimized and balanced processor for gaming workloads. The 32 MB of L3 cache is also a significant asset for open-world games, as it helps reduce latency when accessing frequently used game data.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 5800X and RTX 4070 holds a combo rank of 437 out of 1687 tested combos. This places it in the top 26% of all configurations tested, which is a respectable position given the vast number of possible hardware pairings. This rank reflects a high-performance setup that should handle the game well at most settings. The fact that it is not in the top 10% is primarily due to the RTX 4070 being a mid-to-high-end card rather than a flagship, and the CPU being a previous-generation part.

The rank of 437 suggests that while this combo is excellent for 1080p and 1440p gaming, it is not optimized for extreme 4K Ultra settings. The measured FPS data supports this, as the 4K Ultra score of 33.1 FPS is a weak point. Most of the 1,250 combos ranked above it likely feature more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4080 or 4090, or newer CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, for the vast majority of players using 1080p or 1440p monitors, this combo provides a performance level that surpasses what many would consider necessary for a smooth experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The GPU’s performance in this game is directly tied to its memory capacity and bandwidth. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 33.1 FPS indicates that the 12 GB frame buffer is likely being filled to capacity, and the GPU is struggling to process the high-resolution textures and effects. This is a common scenario for cards with 12 GB of VRAM at 4K with maximum settings in modern titles.

The RTX 4070’s compute capabilities, including its 5888 shading units and 46 RT cores, are substantial. The passmark_g3d score of 26927 and the 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 3854 confirm its strong rasterization performance. The data shows a clear trend where the GPU’s performance scales well with resolution until the memory bandwidth or capacity becomes a limiting factor. The transition from High to Ultra settings at 1440p shows a 28% drop in FPS (from 71.9 to 51.1), and at 4K, the same settings change results in a 32% drop (from 48.4 to 33.1). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces graphical features that are particularly taxing on the memory subsystem, rather than just the raw compute power. The GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K, and its 12 GB memory size is the key constraint for achieving high frame rates at that resolution with maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for Red Dead Redemption 2 with this hardware combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 151.0 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 114.2 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 97.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 67.9 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 111.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 83.0 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 71.9 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 51.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 72.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 58.5 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 48.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 33.1 |

The data shows a consistent pattern: performance decreases as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra are above the 60 FPS mark, with Low settings achieving a very high 151 FPS. At 1440p, the Low and Medium settings are playable, and High hits a respectable 71.9 FPS. The 4K results are more mixed; only Low settings achieve a frame rate above 60 FPS. The drop from 4K High to 4K Ultra is a significant 15.3 FPS, which is the largest single-setting drop in the entire dataset, highlighting the extreme demands of the Ultra preset at 4K. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, players should use High settings at 1440p or Low settings at 4K.