Red Dead Redemption 2

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases, clearly indicating that the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p High settings, the combination delivers 61 FPS average, while at 4K High settings, the average falls to 30 FPS — a 51% reduction in frame rate for a 4x increase in pixel count. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, as the RTX 5050's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit memory bus (320.0 GB/s bandwidth) struggle to keep pace with the pixel throughput demanded by 3840x2160 resolution.

The data shows that dropping from High to Low settings at 4K yields a 60% performance improvement (from 30 FPS to 48 FPS), while the same settings change at 1080p yields a 61% improvement (from 61 FPS to 98 FPS). This proportional scaling across resolutions indicates that the RTX 5050's shading units (2560), texture mapping units (80), and render output units (32) are being saturated in a consistent manner regardless of resolution. The GPU's pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s become the bottleneck, particularly at 4K where the 32 ROPS must process four times the pixels compared to 1080p.

Interestingly, the scaling from Medium to Ultra settings at 4K shows a more dramatic drop (36 FPS to 22 FPS, a 39% reduction) compared to the Medium-to-Ultra transition at 1080p (73 FPS to 44 FPS, a 40% reduction). This near-identical proportional penalty suggests that the game's Ultra preset introduces additional GPU workloads (likely higher-quality shadows, reflections, and draw distances) that scale linearly with resolution, rather than hitting a memory bandwidth wall. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient at all tested settings, as the frame time consistency (measured min/max values) does not degrade disproportionately at 4K Medium (31-41 FPS range) compared to 1080p Medium (62-84 FPS range).

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Red Dead Redemption 2 with this hardware combination?

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets maintain playable frame rates. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset averages 44 FPS, while Low reaches 98 FPS, Medium 73 FPS, and High 61 FPS. At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 33 FPS, and at 4K, the High preset averages only 30 FPS, making higher resolutions viable only with reduced settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its closest GPU rivals in overall benchmark performance?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 places it at the 66th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, scores 21153 (0.6% higher), while the AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21237 (1% higher). The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713 (1.6% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379 (1.6% higher).

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700X bottleneck the RTX 5050 in this game?

A: Given the GPU-centric performance scaling observed, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 9700X's multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485) and single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211) are more than sufficient for the game's requirements. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and max-thread score of 9771 indicate strong multi-core capability that would not constrain the RTX 5050.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combination averages 55 FPS, with measured minimum and maximum values of 46 FPS and 63 FPS respectively. This represents a reasonable balance between visual quality and performance, though it falls short of the 73 FPS achieved at 1080p Medium.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from High to Low at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gain is 61% (from 61 FPS to 98 FPS). At 1440p, the gain is 59% (from 46 FPS to 73 FPS). At 4K, the gain is 60% (from 30 FPS to 48 FPS). The consistent proportional improvement across all resolutions indicates that the Low preset reduces GPU workload in a resolution-independent manner.

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU/GPU combination for Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: This combination ranks 1760 out of 2902 tested combinations in the game's benchmark database. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all hardware combinations tested for this title, reflecting the RTX 5050's mid-range positioning relative to other GPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 serves as the primary performance driver in Red Dead Redemption 2, with its specifications directly influencing the measured frame rates. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The base clock of 2317 MHz and boost clock of 2572 MHz provide the compute throughput for the 2560 shading units, which produce a FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS. The GPU's 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores support Blackwell 2.0 architecture features, though the game's traditional rasterization workload appears to be the primary factor in the measured performance.

The RTX 5050's 32 ROPS and 80 TMUs determine its pixel and texture processing capabilities, with a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. These specifications explain the resolution scaling observed: at 4K (3840x2160), the GPU must fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame, and with 32 ROPS operating at the boost clock, the fill rate becomes the critical constraint. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for all tested settings, as no settings preset showed signs of memory capacity-related stuttering or frame drops beyond what the resolution scaling would predict.

The GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, performs within 0.6%, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT trails by 1.6%. This competitive positioning is reflected in the game's measured frame rates, which align with expectations for a mid-range GPU handling a demanding open-world title. The RTX 5050's 5 nm process node and 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die contribute to its efficiency, with a TDP of 130 W requiring only a 300 W suggested power supply.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings preset for this hardware combination depends on the target resolution and performance priority. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 73 FPS average with a measured range of 62-84 FPS. This provides a smooth experience while maintaining visual quality above the Low preset. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset's 98 FPS average offers a 34% improvement over Medium, though with reduced visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 55 FPS with a 46-63 FPS range, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The High preset drops to 46 FPS, making Medium the recommended choice for 1440p gaming. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 73 FPS, which may be preferable for competitive play or when frame rate consistency is prioritized over visual quality.

At 4K, the data indicates that only the Low preset (48 FPS) provides a consistently playable experience. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS with a 31-41 FPS range, which approaches the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable. The High preset at 30 FPS and Ultra at 22 FPS are below the generally accepted playability threshold of 30 FPS for consistent smoothness. The Ultra preset at any resolution shows diminishing returns, with the 1080p Ultra average of 44 FPS being only 60% of the Medium preset's performance at the same resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings presets produces the following average frame rates: Low 98 FPS, Medium 73 FPS (minimum 62, maximum 84), High 61 FPS, and Ultra 44 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent 25-28% performance reduction per settings tier, with the Medium to High transition (73 to 61 FPS) being the smallest drop at 16%.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are: Low 73 FPS, Medium 55 FPS (minimum 46, maximum 63), High 46 FPS, and Ultra 33 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at each settings level shows reductions of 26% (Low), 25% (Medium), 25% (High), and 25% (Ultra), indicating a uniform pixel-count penalty of approximately 1.78x for the 1.78x increase in resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 48 FPS, Medium 36 FPS (minimum 31, maximum 41), High 30 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 34% (Low), 35% (Medium), 35% (High), and 33% (Ultra), which is less than the 2.25x pixel count increase would suggest, indicating that the GPU is not purely fill-rate limited at the highest resolution — likely some CPU-side overhead or memory latency effects mitigate the expected drop.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X provides the computational foundation for this gaming combination, with its 8 cores and 16 threads running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, is manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process node with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 1 MB L2 and 80 KB L1 per core, provides ample cache hierarchy for game engine workloads.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate substantial headroom for gaming: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and single-core score of 2211 indicate strong performance across both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads. The Geekbench multi-core score of 17906 and single-core score of 3023 corroborate this capability. The PassMark multithread score of 37161 and single-thread score of 4654 further confirm that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game, as the measured FPS scaling patterns align almost exclusively with GPU workload changes.

The Ryzen 7 9700X's nearest CPU rivals all perform within 0.4% of its average benchmark score of 37943: the Intel Core i9-14901E scores 37911 (0.1% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 37904 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core 5 211E scores 37829 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 scores 37804 (0.4% lower). This tight grouping places the 9700X at the 86th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that it is a high-performing processor capable of supporting any modern GPU without introducing CPU-side limitations.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and support for DDR5 memory (dual-channel, 89.6 GB/s bandwidth) contribute to its efficiency, with the PCIe Gen 5 interface (24 lanes CPU-only) providing ample bandwidth for the RTX 5050's PCIe 5.0 x8 interface. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and 2-thread score of 2525 demonstrate that the CPU scales well with thread count, though the game's performance patterns suggest that the RTX 5050 is the definitive performance limiter across all tested resolutions and settings.