Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a gaming experience in Red Dead Redemption 2 that is severely constrained by the graphics processor, resulting in frame rates that are only playable at the lowest settings and resolution. The data shows a 16-core, 32-thread processor from the 5000 series being held back by an integrated-class GPU, creating a bottleneck that defines every benchmark result in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a GPU-bound scenario where the Intel Arc B370 is the primary limiting factor. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 47 at 1920x1080 to 35 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 12 frames, and then to 23 at 3840x2160, a further drop of 12 frames. This linear degradation pattern indicates that the graphics processor is saturated even at the lowest preset, with the resolution increase directly translating into proportional render load.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling shows a similar trajectory. The average FPS at 1080p is 35, dropping to 26 at 1440p and then to 17 at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K is roughly 51%, which is a significant loss but consistent with a GPU that has limited pixel throughput. The measured minimum and maximum frames at Medium settings, 30 to 40 at 1080p, 22 to 30 at 1440p, and 15 to 20 at 4K, demonstrate that even the best-case frame times at 4K are below what most players would consider acceptable.

High settings produce a similar pattern, with averages of 29 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is a substantial 8 frames, showing that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are overwhelmed by the increased pixel count. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with averages of 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 10 FPS at 4K. This final figure is less than a quarter of the Low-setting 1080p performance, highlighting how quickly this combination becomes unusable as visual fidelity increases.

The scaling data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in any resolution or settings combination. If the Ryzen 9 5950X were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat as resolution increased, because the CPU workload would stay constant while the GPU work scaled. Instead, every resolution change produces a meaningful FPS shift, confirming that the Intel Arc B370 is the component that dictates performance. Users targeting higher resolutions with this combo will find that even dropping to Low settings at 1440p only yields 35 FPS, which is marginal for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X brings substantial processing resources to this pairing, with 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is relevant for Red Dead Redemption 2’s game logic and physics simulation. The processor’s 64 MB of L3 cache and 8,300 million transistors on a 7 nm process from TSMC position it as a high-end desktop part, but these specifications have little impact on the measured FPS in this configuration because the GPU is overwhelmed.

Benchmark scores for the CPU show its capability in isolation. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and single-core score of 1614 indicate strong performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The Geekbench multicore score of 15233 and single-core score of 2083 further support this, placing the Ryzen 9 5950X in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. However, the game’s frame rates never approach the level where CPU performance would matter. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 47, which is well below the threshold where the CPU’s thread scheduling or clock speed would become a limiting factor.

The processor’s 3DMark scores illustrate its scaling across thread counts. The single-thread score is 944, while the 2-thread score is 1856, the 4-thread score is 3595, the 8-thread score is 6598, and the 16-thread score is 10810. The max-threads score of 11597 shows that the CPU scales well beyond 16 threads, which is typical for a 32-thread part. Passmark results also show strong multithread performance, with a multithread score of 45424 and an integer math score of 185520. These figures are irrelevant to the game’s output here, as the GPU cannot feed frames fast enough to utilize even a fraction of the CPU’s capacity.

In this specific game and combo, the CPU role is essentially to wait. The Ryzen 9 5950X could easily handle Red Dead Redemption 2 at much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU. The data indicates that the processor is not the constraint, and its presence in this combination does not contribute to any performance ceiling. Instead, it provides ample headroom for other tasks, such as background processes or streaming, without affecting the game’s FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Arc B370 ranks at position 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 8 percent of all configurations. This low ranking is directly attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that most other graphics cards outperform it. The CPU, in contrast, ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, creating a stark mismatch between the two components.

The combo’s rank means that the vast majority of other processor and graphics card pairings in the database deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The delta between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s low percentile explains why this combo underperforms: the processor is capable, but the graphics solution is not. This ranking is not a reflection of the CPU’s quality, but rather of the overall system balance, which is heavily skewed toward the GPU bottleneck.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals provides context for its performance level. The Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, which is very close to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192. These are all older or lower-tier graphics solutions, confirming that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to legacy hardware. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4 percent lower, while the others are between 0.2 and 0.7 percent higher. This tight cluster of scores indicates that the Arc B370 is not a meaningful step above these older parts.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, meanwhile, show that the Ryzen 9 5950X is well-matched with modern high-end processors. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 52073, which is 0.2 percent higher, while the AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121, 0.3 percent higher. The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730, which is 0.4 percent lower, and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301, 0.7 percent higher. These small deltas indicate that the CPU is competitive with current generation parts, but this advantage does not translate to better game performance in this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo produces its best results. Low settings yield an average of 47 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches playability. Medium settings drop to 35 FPS on average, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40, indicating some frame pacing consistency. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average 21 FPS. None of these figures meet the 60 FPS target that many players prefer, but Low settings at 1080p might be tolerable for less demanding users.

At 2560x1440, performance falls further. Low settings average 35 FPS, which is a noticeable step down from the 1080p result. Medium settings average 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. High settings average 22 FPS, and Ultra settings average 16 FPS. The 1440p results show that this combination is not suitable for higher resolution gaming, as even Low settings fail to maintain a consistent 30 FPS in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unusable. Low settings average 23 FPS, Medium settings average 17 FPS with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20, High settings average 14 FPS, and Ultra settings average 10 FPS. These frame rates are below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and even the variance between minimum and maximum frames is small, indicating that the GPU is consistently saturated. The 4K results confirm that this combo should not be considered for 4K gaming under any settings.

The pattern across all resolutions is clear: the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 5950X has more than enough processing power, as evidenced by its benchmark scores, but the GPU’s 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot handle the game’s graphical demands at higher resolutions or settings. The best case scenario is 1080p Low at 47 FPS, and every other configuration falls below that threshold.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process from Intel. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its clock speeds range from a base of 300 MHz to a boost of 2400 MHz, and it relies on system shared memory for both VRAM and memory bandwidth, which is system dependent. The GPU’s TDP is 25 W, and it has no power connectors or dedicated display outputs, as it is designed for portable devices.

The GPU’s benchmark performance is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. This puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning 95 percent of tested graphics cards perform better. The nearest rivals are all older discrete or mobile parts, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, which have similar scores. This indicates that the Arc B370’s raw rendering capability is on par with hardware from over a decade ago, despite its modern architecture.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU’s limitations are immediately apparent. The game is a demanding open-world title with heavy draw distances and detailed textures, and the Arc B370’s 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient to maintain high frame rates. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are low compared to modern discrete GPUs, which explains the poor performance at higher resolutions. The shared memory bandwidth, which is system dependent, further constrains the GPU, as it must compete with the CPU for memory access.

The GPU’s ray tracing cores, while present, do not help in this scenario, as the game’s performance is already below acceptable levels without ray tracing enabled. The fact that the data shows no measurable difference in FPS between settings at 4K, with averages ranging from 10 to 23 FPS, suggests that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling regardless of visual fidelity. This is typical of a GPU that is severely underpowered for the workload, as it cannot render frames fast enough to benefit from reduced settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 47 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches playable frame rates, and it still falls short of 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, which is 0.2 percent lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5 percent lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7 percent lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M. It is 1.4 percent higher than the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with strong multicore and single-core scores. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, not the processor.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 8 percent of all systems.

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

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is 0.2 percent higher, the AMD EPYC 8124P is 0.3 percent higher, the Intel Core i9-13900F is 0.4 percent lower, and the Intel Core i7-14700 is 0.7 percent higher.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 26, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. This is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the GPU is not sufficient for this resolution.