Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a highly capable 4K experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, but its performance profile reveals a system that is firmly GPU-bound at higher resolutions while still offering exceptional headroom at 1080p. The measured data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern: as resolution drops from 4K to 1080p, average frame rates increase dramatically, indicating that the RTX 4080 is the primary limiting factor in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a definitive story about where the bottleneck lies. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 60 FPS, which drops to 43 FPS when pushed to Ultra. Moving down to 2560x1440, the High preset yields 90 FPS, and at 1920x1080, the same preset reaches 121 FPS. This scaling pattern is steep and consistent, with each resolution step down producing roughly a 50% increase in frame rate, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario rather than a CPU-limited one.

The Low preset data reinforces this conclusion. At 4K Low, the system achieves 96 FPS, but at 1440p Low it jumps to 145 FPS, and at 1080p Low it hits 194 FPS. The fact that the Ryzen 7 9700X can feed the RTX 4080 enough data to nearly double performance from 4K to 1080p at Low settings shows that the CPU is not holding back the system at any tested resolution. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or converge at lower resolutions, but instead they continue to climb steeply.

This behavior indicates that Red Dead Redemption 2 is heavily dependent on GPU throughput in this configuration. The 60 FPS average at 4K High is exactly at the threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays, while the 43 FPS at 4K Ultra shows that maxing out every setting will require compromises on high-refresh-rate monitors. The 1080p numbers, particularly the 194 FPS at Low, demonstrate that this combo can easily drive high-refresh-rate panels at that resolution, with even the Ultra preset producing 87 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested hardware combinations, this pairing sits in a strong position. The data shows a combo rank of 260 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the synergy between the Ryzen 7 9700X's strong multi-threaded performance and the RTX 4080's substantial rasterization power.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is 86, meaning it outperforms 86% of CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 37943 places it nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, which scores 37911 with a delta of merely 0.1%. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 trails by just 0.1% with a score of 37904. This clustering at the top of the CPU performance curve indicates that the 9700X is delivering near-flagship level compute performance, which is more than sufficient for this game's engine.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 holds an 86th percentile ranking against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54247 is essentially tied with the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54209 (0.1% delta), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X leads by 1.1% and the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB leads by 2.6%. This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 4080 is performing at the expected level for its class, with no unusual degradation or uplift in this specific game. The combo's overall rank of 260 out of 3714 is a strong indicator that this pairing is well-balanced for demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays the dominant role in determining frame rates across all tested resolutions in Red Dead Redemption 2. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample memory capacity and throughput for this game's detailed open-world textures at 4K resolution. The memory clock runs at 1400 MHz, or 22.4 Gbps effective, which combined with the high bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and asset loading do not become a bottleneck.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. The boost clock of 2505 MHz, up from a base of 2205 MHz, allows the card to sustain high throughput during extended gaming sessions. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power needed to handle the complex lighting, shadow, and particle effects that Red Dead Redemption 2 is known for, particularly at Ultra settings where the 4K frame rate drops to 43 FPS.

The relationship between GPU workload and frame rate is evident in the scaling data. At 4K Ultra, the card is clearly maxed out at 43 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 194 FPS, a 4.5x increase. This range shows that the RTX 4080 is the component that scales with resolution and settings changes, while the CPU maintains a consistent supply of frames. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, places it in the upper echelon of available graphics cards, and its performance in this game aligns with that standing.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 194 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes, the measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with High settings is exactly 60 FPS, which meets the standard for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its closest CPU rival?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X scores 37943 in average benchmark performance, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14901E's 37911 and 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370's 37904.

Q: What is the frame rate drop when moving from 1440p High to 4K High?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 90, while at 3840x2160 High it drops to 60, a reduction of 30 FPS or 33%.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's benchmark score compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, giving the RTX 4080 a 0.1% advantage in average benchmark performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 123, with an average of 145 and a maximum of 167.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X serves as a capable and consistent foundation for this gaming configuration, though its role in Red Dead Redemption 2 is secondary to the GPU. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), the CPU provides ample parallelism for the game's background simulation and AI tasks. The base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is strong, which is important for the game's main game logic thread.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its strengths. In Cinebench R23, it scores 20485 in multi-core and 2211 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 17906 multi-core and 3023 single-core. The 3DMark single-thread test yields 1280, and the multi-thread tests scale well from 9824 at 16 threads to 9771 at max threads, indicating good scaling across its 16 threads. The PassMark multithread score of 37161 and single-thread score of 4654 further confirm its balanced performance profile.

In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's performance is more than adequate to feed the RTX 4080 at all tested settings. The fact that frame rates scale so dramatically with resolution and settings changes, rather than plateauing due to CPU limits, proves that the 9700X is not the bottleneck. The 86th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943, places it in a league where it outperform the vast majority of processors. Its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-14901E and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, all score within 0.4% of the 9700X, showing that it is at the very top of the performance curve for this metric.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 3840x2160 delivers exactly 60 FPS, making it the best choice for a standard 60 Hz display. The Medium preset at 4K provides 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 82, offering a smoother experience with a slight visual compromise. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 43 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most gamers, so it should be avoided unless the player prioritizes visuals over smoothness.

At 1440p, the High preset offers 90 FPS, which is excellent for 144 Hz monitors, while Medium provides 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 125. The Low preset reaches 145 FPS, ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 65 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. For 1080p, the High preset at 121 FPS is a good balance, but Medium at 145 FPS with a minimum of 123 FPS offers an even smoother experience. The Low preset at 194 FPS is best for maximum frame rates on high-refresh-rate displays.

The data indicates that the High preset is the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions, providing the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 4K, it hits exactly 60 FPS, which is the standard target for cinematic gameplay. At 1440p and 1080p, it provides 90 and 121 FPS respectively, which are well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers a meaningful performance boost over High at 4K (72 vs 60 FPS) and 1440p (108 vs 90 FPS), making it the recommended choice for players who prioritize frame rate over maximum visual detail. Ultra should only be used at resolutions below 4K, where the 87 FPS at 1080p Ultra is still playable, though it comes with a significant performance cost compared to High.