Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 with AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 produces a combination that ranks 2013th out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the benchmark database. This 16-core, 32-thread CPU from the 5000 series, built on Zen 3 architecture with a 3.40 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost, combines with an 8 GB GDDR6 GPU featuring a 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that can deliver playable performance at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles at 4K with higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The data shows 1080p Low delivers the highest average of 110 FPS, while 1080p Medium achieves 82 FPS and 1080p High reaches 69 FPS. At 1440p, Low settings produce 82 FPS, Medium hits 61 FPS, and High maintains 51 FPS. For a balanced experience, 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium (61 FPS) provide good frame rates without the visual compromises of Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17,639, placing it just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666 score) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M (17,588 score). It also leads the AMD Radeon Pro 560 by 0.5% and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 by 0.7%. This GPU sits in the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's standing relative to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X scores 51,947 on average, which is 0.2% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52,073) and 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 8124P (52,121). It outperforms the Intel Core i9-13900F by 0.4% (51,730) and trails the Intel Core i7-14700 by 0.7% (52,301). The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile of all tested processors.

Q: Which preset shows the largest FPS drop between 1080p and 4K?

A: The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest decline, dropping from 49 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 4K — a reduction of 25 FPS. High settings fall from 69 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 4K (35 FPS drop in absolute terms but 51% reduction). Medium drops from 82 FPS to 41 FPS, while Low falls from 110 FPS to 54 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any tested resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 110 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed frames efficiently at lower GPU loads. The 5950X's strong multi-threaded performance (26,017 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) and 4.90 GHz boost clock indicate it is not the limiting factor. The scaling pattern — where FPS drops consistently as resolution increases across all settings — points to the GPU as the primary constraint, particularly at 4K.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The only rows with min FPS data are Medium settings: 35 FPS minimum at 4K, 52 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 1080p. The corresponding max FPS values are 47, 71, and 95 respectively. Other presets do not have min/max values recorded in the dataset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, provides 8 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 128-bit bus. Its memory clocks run at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective), yielding 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth — a modest figure that becomes significant when analyzing 4K performance in Red Dead Redemption 2. The GPU's 3,072 shading units and 48 ROPs operate at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, producing 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In this game, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth appear to be limiting factors at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 24 FPS, while 4K High reaches 34 FPS and 4K Medium hits 41 FPS. Even at 4K Low, the frame rate only reaches 54 FPS. The 128-bit memory interface and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth likely struggle to feed the large textures and geometry typical of Red Dead Redemption 2's open world at 3840x2160.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 61st among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,639, places it just ahead of integrated graphics solutions like the Radeon 780M (17,588, only 0.3% behind). This context explains why the card handles 1080p well but falls short at 4K. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s provide adequate throughput for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data shows diminishing returns as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, average FPS drops from 110 at 1080p to 82 at 1440p (a 25% reduction), then to 54 at 4K (a further 34% drop). The Medium preset shows 82 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K — a 50% total reduction from the lowest to highest resolution.

High settings follow a similar trajectory: 69 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset demonstrates the most severe scaling, dropping from 49 FPS at 1080p to 37 FPS at 1440p and finally to 24 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern across all four presets — where each resolution step costs roughly 25-30% of the previous frame rate — indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

The 1080p to 1440p transition reduces FPS by 21-28% depending on settings, while the 1440p to 4K step causes a 33-35% reduction. This accelerating decline suggests that the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory buffer and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count grows. At 1080p, the GPU can leverage its 15.11 TFLOPS compute power effectively; at 4K, memory bandwidth constraints likely prevent full utilization of the shading units.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 110 FPS, making this the only configuration that exceeds the 100 FPS threshold. Medium settings achieve 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, indicating reasonably stable frame pacing. High settings reach 69 FPS, while Ultra drops to 49 FPS — still playable but noticeably lower.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low settings maintain 82 FPS, matching the 1080p Medium result. Medium settings produce 61 FPS (52 min, 71 max), which remains smooth for most displays. High settings fall to 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS — approaching the threshold where gameplay may feel less fluid. The 1440p results show that the RTX 4060 can handle this resolution with reduced settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings yield 54 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium settings achieve 41 FPS (35 min, 47 max), High settings drop to 34 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS — effectively unplayable for most users. The 4K results consistently fall below 60 FPS even at Low settings, confirming that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 5950X and RTX 4060 ranks 2013th out of 3,714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 54th percentile of all combinations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the GPU's modest position in the graphics hierarchy — the RTX 4060 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU excels at the 91st percentile. The pairing of a high-end processor with a mid-range graphics card creates an imbalanced system where the GPU dictates gaming performance.

This ranking suggests that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU holds the combination back. The 5950X's 91st percentile CPU standing means it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database, yet the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the RTX 4060's 61st percentile GPU standing. In a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its demanding graphics, the GPU's contribution to the final frame rate is far more significant than the CPU's.

The measured FPS data aligns with this interpretation: even at 1080p Low, where CPU load would be highest relative to GPU load, the system only reaches 110 FPS — a respectable figure but not exceptional for a 16-core, 32-thread processor with a 4.90 GHz boost clock. The CPU's synthetic benchmarks (26,017 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 1,614 single-core) suggest it could support much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X brings substantial processing power to this combination. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer), the CPU operates at a 3.40 GHz base clock and can boost to 4.90 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth provide strong support for game logic and asset streaming. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 51,947, places it in the top tier of desktop CPUs.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The game's engine can utilize multiple threads, and the 5950X's 32 threads provide ample parallel processing capacity. The 3DMark multi-threaded score of 11,597 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 26,017 reflect the CPU's ability to handle heavy computational loads, which likely prevents any CPU-induced stuttering or frame drops in this open-world title.

However, the measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 110 FPS — a figure that could be higher if the GPU were more capable. The single-thread performance (1,614 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 944 in 3DMark single-thread) is sufficient for the game's main thread, while the multi-threaded performance ensures background tasks and physics calculations do not interfere with frame rendering. The CPU's 0.4% advantage over the Intel Core i9-13900F in average benchmark score (51,947 vs 51,730) indicates it holds its own against newer competitors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this hardware depends on the user's priority for visual quality versus frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 82 FPS provides the best balance — it offers significantly better visuals than Low (110 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. Players who prioritize smoothness above all else can select Low for 110 FPS, while those who accept lower frame rates for improved visuals can choose High at 69 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 61 FPS is the recommended choice. It maintains a playable frame rate while delivering acceptable visual quality. Low settings at 82 FPS provide a smoother experience, but the visual compromise may be noticeable on larger displays. High settings at 51 FPS are borderline playable, while Ultra at 37 FPS falls below the ideal range for action games.

For 4K, the data suggests that this combination is not well-suited. The best result is Low settings at 54 FPS, which still falls short of the 60 FPS target. Medium at 41 FPS and High at 34 FPS are likely to feel sluggish, while Ultra at 24 FPS is not recommended. Users who must play at 4K should accept Low settings, but the overall experience will be suboptimal. For the best experience with this hardware, 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium provide the most favorable trade-off between visual fidelity and performance, delivering 82 FPS and 61 FPS respectively.