Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination produces a surprisingly varied performance profile in Red Dead Redemption 2, heavily dependent on resolution and quality preset. The data indicates a system capable of smooth 1080p gameplay at medium settings, but one that struggles significantly at 4K, where even the lowest settings fail to maintain 60 FPS. This pairing places in the 21st percentile of all tested combos for this title, ranking 2933rd out of 3714 configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a consistent 60 FPS?

A: The only settings row that reaches or exceeds 60 FPS at 1920x1080 is the Low preset, which averages 85 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 63 FPS, which is also above the 60 FPS threshold. No settings at 3840x2160 achieve even 50 FPS, with the highest average being 42 FPS on Low.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K on the High preset?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 53. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 26. This represents a 51% reduction in average frame rate, indicating a significant load increase on the GPU as resolution scales.

Q: Which quality preset shows the most consistent frame pacing according to the data?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with reported minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the range is 54 to 73 FPS (average 63); at 2560x1440, the range is 40 to 54 FPS (average 47); and at 3840x2160, the range is 27 to 36 FPS (average 31).

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, a delta of 0%. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, which is 0.1% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, putting it 0.8% behind the RTX 2060.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking relative to all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29879. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, scores 29868, essentially matching the 5800XT's performance with a 0% delta.

Q: Does the GPU support modern API features required for this game?

A: Yes, the RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This API support is sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2, which can utilize DirectX 12 for rendering.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 serves as the primary rendering engine in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance ceilings. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical factor at higher resolutions, where the frame buffer demand increases substantially. The measured FPS data shows a pronounced drop at 3840x2160, which aligns with the 6 GB capacity potentially becoming a limiting factor when textures and geometry data exceed available VRAM.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest by modern standards, with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. These clocks contribute to a raw compute throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, which is the primary metric for traditional rasterization workloads. The RTX 2060 also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, though these are not directly utilized in Red Dead Redemption 2's standard rendering path, which does not mandate ray tracing. The shading units count of 1920, combined with 120 texture mapping units and 48 render output units, determines the pixel and texture fill rates, which are 80.64 GPixel/s and 201.6 GTexel/s respectively.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 15290. Its nearest rivals in the database are the GTX 580 (0% delta), Radeon 680M (0.1% faster), RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% faster), and RX 7600 (0.8% faster). This narrow delta range indicates that the RTX 2060 is positioned in a highly competitive performance tier, where small architectural differences translate to minor score variations. In Red Dead Redemption 2 specifically, this performance level translates to playable frame rates only at 1080p with lower presets, as the game's demanding rendering engine stresses the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading capacity.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by preset. On the High preset, average FPS moves from 53 at 1920x1080, to 39 at 2560x1440, and finally to 26 at 3840x2160. This progression represents a 26% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 33% drop from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative 51% reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the pixel count quadruples while the frame rate halves.

The Low preset exhibits a different scaling pattern, with average FPS of 85 at 1080p, 63 at 1440p, and 42 at 4K. The percentage drops are 26% from 1080p to 1440p and 33% from 1440p to 4K, which is proportionally similar to the High preset. However, the absolute frame rates are substantially higher, suggesting that the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU at lower quality settings. The Medium preset shows average FPS of 63, 47, and 31 across the three resolutions, with a 25% drop followed by a 34% drop. The Ultra preset demonstrates the steepest absolute decline, falling from 38 FPS at 1080p to 28 FPS at 1440p and 19 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the combination may be partially CPU-limited on the Low preset, given the 85 FPS result. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes progressively more saturated, and the frame rate scaling approaches the theoretical pixel-count ratio. The fact that no preset at 4K exceeds 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 19 FPS, indicates that the RTX 2060's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is insufficient to sustain high fill rates at that resolution, regardless of quality settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 delivers its best results across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 85 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combination in any configuration. The Medium preset averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, providing a playable experience with some headroom above the 60 FPS target. The High preset averages 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still smooth on most displays. The Ultra preset averages 38 FPS, making it borderline playable for those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but the Low preset remains viable. The Low preset averages 63 FPS, exactly matching the 1080p Medium result, which demonstrates that dropping from 1080p Medium to 1440p Low yields identical average performance. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, which is playable on adaptive sync displays. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 28 FPS, which begins to feel sluggish for a game with fast camera movements.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 is clearly overmatched. The Low preset averages 42 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 40 FPS. The Medium preset averages 31 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 36 FPS, indicating frame time inconsistency that would be noticeable during gameplay. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. These sub-30 FPS averages suggest that the GPU is memory-bandwidth limited, as the 6 GB VRAM capacity and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the data throughput required at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 5800XT and RTX 2060 achieves a rank of 2933 out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the configuration in the 79th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly 21% of systems but is outperformed by the vast majority. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU is capable of much higher performance but is constrained by the GPU's rendering limits.

The GPU's percentile rank of 58 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290, provides context for this in-game ranking. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals in the database all score within a 0.8% delta, indicating that this GPU tier is tightly clustered in synthetic performance. However, in actual game performance, the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM capacity may disadvantage it against rivals with larger memory buffers, particularly at higher resolutions where the measured FPS drops sharply.

The CPU's percentile rank of 81, with an average score of 29879, shows that the Ryzen 7 5800XT is a strong performer in isolation. Its nearest rivals include the Ryzen 7 7840H (0% delta), Ryzen 7 8845HS (0.3% slower), and Ryzen 5 9600X (0.6% faster). This suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combination; rather, the GPU's mid-range performance is what drags the overall combo rank down to 2933rd place.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combination depends on the user's priority between frame rate and visual quality. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides the best balance, with an average of 63 FPS and a minimum of 54 FPS. This ensures that frame rates rarely drop below 60 FPS, while still offering improved visual fidelity over the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p is also acceptable, averaging 53 FPS, but the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS threshold more frequently.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only comfortable option, averaging 63 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution averages 47 FPS, which is playable but may exhibit noticeable frame pacing issues during intense scenes, given the 40 FPS minimum. Users with 1440p displays should accept the Low preset for smooth gameplay, or tolerate the Medium preset's lower frame rates for better visuals.

At 3840x2160, no settings preset delivers a satisfactory experience. The Low preset averages 42 FPS, which is borderline playable for slower-paced exploration but will struggle during action sequences. The Medium preset's average of 31 FPS, with a 27 FPS minimum, is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The Ultra preset at 19 FPS is effectively unplayable. Users with 4K displays should either reduce resolution to 1440p or accept significant compromises in visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT provides substantial processing headroom that the RTX 2060 cannot fully utilize in this game. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This configuration delivers strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 3359 for single-core and 23794 for multi-core. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides low-latency access to frequently used data, which benefits game logic and physics calculations.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark results show a significant advantage over its nearest rivals in the database. Its average benchmark score of 29879 places it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with the closest competitor being the Ryzen 7 7840H at 29868 (0% delta). The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7683 and max-thread score of 7680 demonstrate consistent scaling across all cores, indicating that the processor is well-suited for workloads that utilize all 16 threads.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and process game simulation. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 85 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can drive frame rates higher than what the GPU can sustain at higher quality settings. The fact that the 1080p Low result is 35% higher than the 1080p High result (85 vs 53 FPS) indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as quality settings increase, while the CPU maintains consistent performance. The Ryzen 7 5800XT's 105 W TDP and AM4 socket compatibility make it a capable partner for the RTX 2060, though the GPU's mid-range positioning ultimately caps the system's overall gaming performance in this title.