Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B370 reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 47 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 35 FPS, a reduction of approximately 25.5%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 Low yields only 23 FPS, which is a further 34.3% drop from the 1440p result. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the total loss is about 51.1% of the original frame rate.

This scaling pattern is telling. The FPS losses from resolution scaling are not linear — they accelerate as resolution climbs. From 1080p to 1440p, the drop is 12 FPS; from 1440p to 4K, the drop is another 12 FPS. The consistent absolute losses suggest that the GPU is being overwhelmed at higher pixel counts, since the CPU workload does not change with resolution. The Intel Arc B370, with its 25 W TDP and integrated graphics design, is clearly the bottleneck here.

The picture becomes even clearer when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 29 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 22 FPS. At 4K High, it collapses to 14 FPS. The percentage drops are substantial: roughly 24.1% from 1080p to 1440p, then 36.4% from 1440p to 4K. The increasing percentage losses indicate that the GPU's rendering resources are being exhausted more severely at each successive resolution step.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly different numbers. From 35 FPS at 1080p Medium to 26 FPS at 1440p Medium (a 25.7% drop), then to 17 FPS at 4K Medium (a 34.6% drop). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic degradation: 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and just 10 FPS at 4K. That is a 52.4% total loss from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra.

What this scaling data indicates is a system where the integrated GPU is the dominant limiting factor across all resolutions. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with 8 cores and 16 threads boosting to 5.20 GHz, is far more capable than what this game demands at these frame rates. The benchmark results show that even at the lowest resolution and settings, the system cannot reach 60 FPS, which strongly suggests that the GPU's 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs are saturated well before the CPU's potential is tapped.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on TSMC's 4 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The processor includes 96 MB of shared L3 cache, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This cache configuration, particularly the large L3, is designed to reduce memory latency in gaming workloads.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate substantial single-threaded and multi-threaded capability. In Cinebench R23, the 9800X3D scores 2080 in single-core and 23230 in multi-core. Geekbench results show 2964 single-core and 18696 multi-core. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1212 in single-thread to 10067 in max-threads, with 16-thread performance at 10081. The PassMark suite shows 4430 in single-thread and 40009 in multithread tests.

In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw call submission. The 9800X3D's high boost clock of 5.20 GHz and large L3 cache should provide ample headroom for these tasks. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where CPU load is typically highest relative to GPU load, the system only reaches 47 FPS. This is far below what the CPU could theoretically support, indicating the GPU is the constraining factor.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS with an average score of 39603 (0.4% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 at 40048 (0.7% higher), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 at 39485 (0.7% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 at 40081 (0.8% higher). The 9800X3D's average benchmark score is 39768, placing it at the 87th percentile among all CPUs. This positioning confirms that the processor is a high-tier part, certainly not the weak link in this gaming combo.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 that streams large open-world environments, memory bandwidth can matter, but the 89.6 GB/s figure is more than sufficient for the frame rates observed here. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes provides ample bandwidth for any discrete GPU, though the Arc B370 is integrated and uses system shared memory.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS.

Critically, the Arc B370 uses system shared memory for both its framebuffer and texture storage. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This means the GPU's performance is directly tied to the CPU's memory subsystem — in this case, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's dual-channel DDR5 at 89.6 GB/s. While this shared memory approach is common for integrated graphics, it can introduce latency and bandwidth limitations that are not present with dedicated VRAM.

The GPU's benchmark presence is minimal, with only one recorded test: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at a score of 1184. This places the Arc B370 at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, a very low ranking. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192 (0.7% higher), and the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1168 (1.4% lower). These rivals are all older discrete or mobile parts, suggesting the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to entry-level GPUs from over a decade ago.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role is to render the game's detailed open world, including character models, vegetation, lighting, and shadows. The game was released in 2018 and is known for being demanding, particularly at higher settings. The measured FPS data shows that the Arc B370 struggles with this title across all resolutions and settings. The highest average FPS recorded is 47 at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 10 at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's low TDP of 25 W further confirms its integrated nature. With no power connectors and an IGP slot width, this is not a part designed for high-end gaming. The 3 nm process and Xe3-LPG architecture are modern, but the chip's small size and limited shading units constrain its output. The 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 figure sounds respectable on paper, but the shared memory architecture and limited ROP count (20) likely bottleneck fill-rate-heavy scenes common in Red Dead Redemption 2's sweeping landscapes.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The dataset provides measured average FPS for four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). Medium settings also include minimum and maximum FPS values, while the other presets only report averages.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 47 FPS average
• Medium: 35 FPS average, with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 40
• High: 29 FPS average
• Ultra: 21 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 35 FPS average
• Medium: 26 FPS average, with a minimum of 22 and maximum of 30
• High: 22 FPS average
• Ultra: 16 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 23 FPS average
• Medium: 17 FPS average, with a minimum of 15 and maximum of 20
• High: 14 FPS average
• Ultra: 10 FPS average

The Medium preset's min/max data is particularly useful for understanding frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 30 to 40 FPS represents a 25% spread from minimum to maximum. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 22 to 30 FPS, a spread of approximately 27%. At 4K Medium, the range is 15 to 20 FPS, a spread of 25%. These consistent proportional ranges suggest stable performance rather than erratic spikes, though the absolute values are low.

Comparing settings at the same resolution reveals the cost of each preset tier. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 12 FPS (from 47 to 35), Medium to High costs 6 FPS (from 35 to 29), and High to Ultra costs 8 FPS (from 29 to 21). The Low-to-Medium jump is the most expensive in absolute terms, likely reflecting a significant increase in texture quality and shadow detail. At 1440p, the step from Low to Medium costs 9 FPS, Medium to High costs 4 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 6 FPS. At 4K, Low to Medium costs 6 FPS, Medium to High costs 3 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 4 FPS.

Resolution scaling at identical settings shows the pixel-count penalty. At Low settings, dropping from 1080p to 1440p costs 12 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K costs another 12 FPS. At Medium, the drops are 9 FPS and 9 FPS respectively. At High, the drops are 7 FPS and 8 FPS. At Ultra, the drops are 5 FPS and 6 FPS. Interestingly, the absolute FPS cost of resolution scaling decreases as settings increase, because the GPU is already so heavily loaded that additional pixels have a proportionally smaller incremental impact.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the combo in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the low FPS numbers observed.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's poor performance relative to other parts. The CPU alone sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 87% of processors in the database. The GPU, by contrast, sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only 5% of graphics cards. When combined, the system's overall gaming performance is dragged down dramatically by the integrated graphics.

This rank of 2670 out of 2902 means there are 232 combos that perform worse. Those would likely involve older or even less capable GPUs paired with high-end CPUs, or very old CPU/GPU pairs. However, the overwhelming majority of tested combos (2670 of them) deliver better performance in this game. The data suggests that pairing a top-tier CPU like the 9800X3D with the Arc B370 creates a severe imbalance, where the CPU's potential is largely wasted because the GPU cannot keep up.

The delta between this combo's ranking and what the CPU alone would suggest is stark. If the GPU were even mid-range, the 9800X3D's cache and clock advantages could push this combo into a much higher percentile. But with the Arc B370's shared memory and limited compute resources, the combo ranks among the lowest performers in the database for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 47, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's average benchmark score is 39768. It is 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (39603), 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (39485), 0.7% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048), and 0.8% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (40081).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B370 ranks at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only 5% of graphics cards in the database.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever reach playable frame rates at any resolution?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K. None of these approach typical playable thresholds.

Q: What is the total FPS loss from 1080p Low to 4K Low?

A: The frame rate drops from 47 FPS at 1080p Low to 23 FPS at 4K Low, representing a loss of 24 FPS, or approximately 51.1% of the original performance.

Q: How many total combos does this system rank above in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The combo ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos, meaning it performs better than 232 combinations and worse than 2670 combinations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. The data shows that no configuration achieves 60 FPS, and only one configuration reaches 47 FPS. For the most playable experience, 1080p Low is the clear choice, delivering 47 FPS average. This is the only measured configuration that approaches smooth motion, though it still falls short of 60 FPS.

At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS. This is a significant step down in smoothness, but the visual quality improvement from Low to Medium is substantial in Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly for textures and shadows. If a player values visual fidelity over frame rate consistency, 1080p Medium is the best balance, as the min FPS of 30 remains relatively stable.

For 1440p, the data suggests that Low settings (35 FPS) are the only viable option. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 26 FPS, and at High it drops to 22 FPS. The 1440p Low configuration offers a playable experience, but the 1080p Low configuration provides a noticeably higher frame rate. If resolution is more important than frame rate, 1440p Low is the choice.

At 4K, all settings produce averages below 24 FPS, which is generally considered the threshold for very choppy but technically moving imagery. The 4K Low setting at 23 FPS is the only 4K configuration that comes close to this threshold. For most users, 4K is not a realistic option with this combo in this game.

The Medium preset's min/max data provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 30 FPS ensures no drops below that level. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 22 FPS is noticeably lower. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 15 FPS is quite low. This suggests that the Medium preset's frame pacing becomes less consistent at higher resolutions, reinforcing that 1080p Medium is the practical ceiling for this combo.

In summary, the recommended settings are 1080p Low for maximum frame rate (47 FPS), 1080p Medium for the best balance of visuals and smoothness (35 FPS average, 30 FPS minimum), and 1440p Low as an alternative for users who prioritize resolution over frame rate (35 FPS). Settings above Medium at any resolution, or any setting at 4K, result in frame rates that are likely to feel sluggish and may detract from the game experience.