Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a solid, if not spectacular, showing in Red Dead Redemption 2. The data places this pairing at rank 441 out of 1687 tested combos, putting it in the top quarter of systems. This is a capable 1440p machine for this title, though 4K gaming demands significant setting compromises. The benchmark results reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals where this system's limits lie. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 153.4 FPS, which drops to 115.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 72.9 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 remains the dominant factor even at lower resolutions, as the Ryzen 7 5800XT's eight-core, 16-thread configuration provides ample headroom.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings costs 21.4 FPS (from 94.3 to 72.9), a 22.7% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same preset costs another 28.2 FPS, a 38.7% drop. This accelerating decline is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where pixel count outpaces the shader throughput of the Ada Lovelace architecture.

At Ultra settings, the scaling becomes even more pronounced. The system produces 68.7 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and only 35.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure represents less than a quarter of the 1080p Low result, demonstrating that the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for maximum fidelity at the highest resolution.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 84.7 FPS (153.4 vs 68.7). At 1440p, it grows to 64.8 FPS. At 4K, the spread narrows to 37.6 FPS (72.9 vs 35.3), suggesting that at 4K, even Low settings push the GPU to its limits, leaving less room for preset-based performance differentiation.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the High preset at 94.3 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. Pushing to Ultra yields 68.7 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 27.2% of the frame rate for incremental graphical gains. The Medium preset at 111.5 FPS is a viable alternative for competitive play, though the jump from Medium to High is only 17.2 FPS, making High the more sensible choice.

At 1440p, High settings at 72.9 FPS provide the most consistent experience. This frame rate clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare, and the visual uplift over Medium (82.4 FPS) justifies the 9.5 FPS cost. Ultra at 51 FPS dips below the smoothness bar, so it is only recommended for players who prioritize image quality over responsiveness.

The 4K results present a more difficult decision. High settings produce 44.7 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target but still playable for a narrative-driven action adventure. Medium at 57.3 FPS is the best option for maintaining near-60 FPS performance, though it requires accepting reduced texture and shadow quality. Low settings at 72.9 FPS are the only way to achieve fully smooth 4K gameplay, but the visual compromise is substantial for a game known for its atmospheric detail.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, built on the 5 nm Ada Lovelace architecture with 35,800 million transistors, serves as the performance ceiling for this combination. Its 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus provide 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for 1440p High but strained at 4K Ultra. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS drive the measured results, yet the scaling data shows these resources run out before the CPU does.

The RTX 4070's 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present in the hardware, though Red Dead Redemption 2's rasterization-heavy workload primarily exercises the 5888 shading units. The 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs deliver a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s, which translate to the 44.7 FPS floor seen at 4K High.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 against all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.6% lower average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (2.2% higher). This positioning explains why the RTX 4070 can handle 1440p comfortably yet struggles to maintain 4K Ultra at playable rates. The 200 W TDP and dual-slot cooler keep thermals manageable, but the 16-pin power connector requires a compatible PSU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 441 out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 73.8th percentile. This is a strong result, but it indicates that roughly a quarter of tested systems outperform this pairing in this specific title. The rank reflects the balance between the Ryzen 7 5800XT's strong multi-threaded performance and the RTX 4070's solid mid-range GPU capabilities.

The CPU's percentile of 86 against all processors is higher than the GPU's percentile of 81, suggesting the processor is slightly less of a limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 5800XT's nearest rivals in aggregate CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.3% higher average score) and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (0.3% higher), indicating the 5800XT sits in a tightly contested performance band. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and single-core score of 3359 confirm it is not the bottleneck in most scenarios.

The 4K Low result of 72.9 FPS is particularly telling. It matches the 1440p High result exactly, showing that at 4K Low, the GPU is delivering the same throughput it achieves at 1440p High. This suggests the RTX 4070's memory bandwidth is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the core clock and shader count cannot compensate for the increased pixel fill rate demands.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can this combo achieve at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 72.9, which provides smooth gameplay above the 60 FPS threshold for Red Dead Redemption 2.

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

A: No. The CPU's percentile rank of 86 versus the GPU's 81, combined with the resolution scaling pattern, indicates the GPU is the limiting component at all tested settings.

Q: Can this system run 4K at 60 FPS?

A: Not reliably. The highest 4K average FPS is 72.9 at Low settings, but High settings drop to 44.7 FPS and Ultra to 35.3 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: In aggregate benchmarks, it is 0.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and 1.9% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A, but 2.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming?

A: High settings at 94.3 FPS offer the best experience, as Ultra drops to 68.7 FPS while Medium only reaches 111.5 FPS.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 35.3 FPS suggests memory capacity and bandwidth limitations, though the GPU's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is the more likely constraint given the scaling pattern.