Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a strong but nuanced experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with the data showing that the combination ranks 260th out of 3714 tested combos for this title. That placement, in the top 7% of all recorded configurations, signals a system that can handle the game with authority, yet the measured frame rates reveal that the RTX 4080 carries most of the load, especially as resolution climbs. The benchmark results indicate a platform that is capable of high-refresh 1080p play, solid 1440p performance, and playable 4K, though the gap between settings presets widens considerably at the highest resolutions. This analysis breaks down exactly what those numbers mean for a builder deciding how to configure the game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 260 out of 3714 tested combinations places it in the upper echelon of systems tested for Red Dead Redemption 2. In percentile terms, this configuration outperforms roughly 93% of all recorded pairings, which is consistent with the hardware’s individual standing: the CPU sits in the 94th percentile against all processors, and the GPU is in the 86th percentile against all graphics cards. The data suggests that this pairing is well balanced for the game’s demands, though it is not an extreme outlier at the very top of the charts. The rank implies that while most users will find this setup more than sufficient, there are a handful of higher-end combinations (likely with more powerful GPUs or higher-core-count CPUs) that pull ahead in raw frame rates.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 9700F posts an average benchmark score of 69,996, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515). It trails the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 0.2% (70,163) and the Intel Core i7-14700K by 0.9% (69,355). These deltas are tiny, meaning that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 9700F is effectively a peer of those high-end chips, and the game’s performance will hinge more on the GPU. For the RTX 4080, its average benchmark score of 54,247 is 0.1% above the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209) and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). It is 2.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698) and 2.7% behind the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757), which are odd comparisons given the generational gap, but the synthetic scores show that the RTX 4080 is not dramatically separated from those parts in aggregate benchmarks. In practice, the measured FPS in this game will tell a clearer story.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Red Dead Redemption 2, and its memory configuration is a key factor. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. That memory capacity is ample for this 2018 title, even at 4K with high-resolution textures, and the bandwidth ensures that the GPU can feed its 9728 shading units without stalling. The GPU’s base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and the memory runs at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). These clocks are high enough that the card does not struggle with the game’s draw distances or volumetric lighting effects. The RTX 4080 also has 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, though Red Dead Redemption 2 does not rely heavily on ray tracing; the raw rasterization performance is what matters here.

The GPU’s role is most evident when comparing the measured FPS across settings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 194 FPS average, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 87 FPS. That 107 FPS swing is almost entirely the GPU’s doing, as the CPU is unlikely to bottleneck at those lower resolutions. At 4K, the pattern continues: 96 FPS average on Low versus 43 FPS on Ultra. The 53 FPS difference at 4K shows that the RTX 4080’s compute and memory bandwidth are being pushed hard by the Ultra preset’s increased shadow quality, reflection detail, and texture filtering. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings, which is expected given that the 9700F’s 8 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for this game’s engine. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB VRAM also means there is no risk of hitting a memory ceiling, even at 4K Ultra, so the frame rate drops are purely a function of shading and rasterization load.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target display resolution and refresh rate. The data shows that the Medium preset offers a strong balance of visual fidelity and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 145 FPS average, which is 59 FPS higher than Ultra (87 FPS) and only 49 FPS lower than Low (194 FPS). The Medium preset also has a recorded minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 167 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing that will feel smooth on a 144Hz monitor. At 1440p, Medium hits 108 FPS average (min 92, max 125), which is still comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh gaming. At 4K, Medium manages 72 FPS average (min 61, max 82), which is playable on a 60Hz display and only 12 FPS below the High preset’s 60 FPS average — but Medium looks noticeably better than Low (96 FPS) without the steep cost of Ultra (43 FPS).

For users with a 60Hz 4K display, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it provides a 72 FPS average with a 61 FPS minimum that rarely dips below the refresh rate. For 1440p users, High is also viable at 90 FPS average, but Medium offers a 18 FPS headroom over High, which is worth it if you prefer smoother motion over slightly better shadows. At 1080p, the High preset (121 FPS average) is fine, but Medium’s 145 FPS average makes it the better choice for competitive or fast-paced play. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it yields only 87 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K — the latter being below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider acceptable. The data clearly shows that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a 60% FPS improvement over Ultra at 4K (72 vs 43) while still looking substantially better than Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed picture of how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 194 on Low to 87 on Ultra, with Medium at 145 (min 123, max 167) and High at 121. The 1080p numbers show a linear degradation as settings increase, with a 55% drop from Low to Ultra. At 2560x1440, the averages are 145 on Low, 108 on Medium (min 92, max 125), 90 on High, and 65 on Ultra. The 1440p results show a similar pattern, but the percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 55% as well, indicating that the GPU is still the primary constraint. At 3840x2160, the averages are 96 on Low, 72 on Medium (min 61, max 82), 60 on High, and 43 on Ultra. The 4K numbers are the most telling: the gap between Low and Medium is 24 FPS, between Medium and High is 12 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 17 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds a significant load that the RTX 4080 cannot sustain at 4K.

The minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution: 123 at 1080p, 92 at 1440p, and 61 at 4K. These minimums are important because they indicate worst-case scenarios during intense scenes, such as crowded towns or heavy foliage. At 4K Medium, the 61 FPS minimum means the game will rarely stutter below 60 FPS, which is a solid experience for a title like Red Dead Redemption 2 that prioritizes immersion over twitch reactions. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 167 at 1080p, 125 at 1440p, and 82 at 4K, showing that the combo can push well above the average in less demanding scenes. The lack of min/max data for other presets means we only have averages, but the Medium data suggests that frame pacing is stable enough for consistent play.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system’s components interact under increasing load. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 145 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p, a 25.5% reduction, and then to 72 at 4K, a further 33.3% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 50.3% (145 to 72). At High settings, the drop is from 121 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p (25.6% reduction) and then to 60 at 4K (33.3% reduction from 1440p), totaling 50.4% from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 194 at 1080p to 145 at 1440p (25.3% reduction) and then to 96 at 4K (33.8% reduction from 1440p), totaling 50.5% from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 87 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p (25.3% reduction) and then to 43 at 4K (33.8% reduction from 1440p), totaling 50.6% from 1080p to 4K.

These consistent percentage drops across all settings are a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases. The pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, but the FPS only halves, which is typical for a GPU that has headroom in its memory bandwidth and shading capacity. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to stay flat or drop less severely at higher resolutions, because the CPU workload does not scale with resolution. Instead, the data shows a linear relationship between resolution and FPS loss, which means the RTX 4080 is doing the heavy lifting. The 9700F’s 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, where the CPU must process more draw calls per frame relative to the GPU’s rendering time, but even at 194 FPS on Low, the combo does not show signs of a CPU limit. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the 43 FPS on Ultra is far below what the CPU could deliver.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 part on the Granite Ridge architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3, which is ample for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 that benefits from high single-thread performance. The CPU’s benchmark scores reflect this: a passmark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the 9700F is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% higher avg score) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% lower), which means that in CPU-bound scenarios, this chip will not hold back the RTX 4080. The boost clock of 5.50 GHz is particularly important for this game, as Red Dead Redemption 2’s engine has a strong reliance on a few main threads for physics and AI.

The CPU’s role in this combo is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 194 FPS average, which is a scenario where the CPU must handle a high number of frames per second and thus more draw calls. The fact that the 9700F can sustain that frame rate without dipping suggests that its 8 cores are enough for this game’s multi-threaded rendering pipeline. The TDP is 65 W, which is low for a desktop chip, but the performance does not suffer, as evidenced by the passmark physics score of 2122 and floating point math score of 77955. The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache also helps with the game’s large open world, as more of the map data can be cached locally, reducing the need to fetch from system memory. The Ryzen 7 9700F supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU’s 716.8 GB/s bandwidth without creating a system memory bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU drops to 43 FPS, but the CPU is still delivering consistent frame times, as evidenced by the Medium preset’s 61 FPS minimum at 4K. In summary, the 9700F is a capable partner for the RTX 4080 in this title, providing enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to let the GPU shine at any resolution.