Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a clear scaling pattern for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. At 1080p, the system delivers 152 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 113 FPS at 1440p and further to 75 FPS at 4K. That represents a 50.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, indicating that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count rises.

The Medium preset tells a similar story. At 1080p, the average frame rate is 114 FPS, falling to 85 FPS at 1440p and 56 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K on Medium is 50.9%, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling. This consistency suggests the rendering workload scales predictably with resolution for this title, with no sudden bottlenecks emerging at any particular setting level.

High settings show the steepest relative decline. The system manages 95 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction is 50.5%, again matching the pattern. Ultra settings begin at 68 FPS at 1080p, drop to 51 FPS at 1440p, and bottom out at 34 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K decline here is exactly 50.0%.

The data reveals that the scaling factor remains remarkably consistent across all four presets, hovering around 50% when moving from 1080p to 4K. This uniformity indicates that the limiting component is the GPU throughout, since a CPU-bound scenario would show diminishing returns at lower resolutions or a plateau in frame rates. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient for the game's demands across these settings, as the frame rate scaling does not collapse at 4K in a way that would suggest memory capacity issues.

At 4K Ultra, the 34 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold many players target, but the 47 FPS at 4K High is more playable. The gap between Low and Ultra at any given resolution is substantial: at 1080p it is 84 FPS, at 1440p it is 62 FPS, and at 4K it is 41 FPS. This spread widens at lower resolutions because the GPU has more headroom to render higher settings, whereas at 4K the pixel throughput limits what the card can achieve regardless of quality level.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (0.1% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37507 (0.4% slower), while the RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% faster at 38135. This places the desktop RTX 4070 in a tightly contested performance band where small percentage differences separate competitors.

The card's architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The boost clock is 2475 MHz, with a base clock of 1920 MHz. Memory runs at 1313 MHz, translating to 21 Gbps effective across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The 12 GB GDDR6X frame buffer is paired with 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing capabilities include 46 RT cores, while 184 tensor cores handle AI workloads.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role is dominant. The measured data shows that lowering settings from Ultra to Low produces massive frame rate gains: at 1080p, the jump is from 68 FPS to 152 FPS, a 123.5% improvement. At 1440p, it goes from 51 FPS to 113 FPS, a 121.6% gain. Even at 4K, Low settings deliver 75 FPS versus 34 FPS on Ultra, a 120.6% increase. This sensitivity to settings confirms the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in this title.

The 5 nm process node and 200 W TDP allow the RTX 4070 to maintain high clock speeds while rendering. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for the game's detailed environments. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS supports the compute demands of modern game rendering pipelines.

The card's position relative to its rivals in the database suggests that Red Dead Redemption 2 performance aligns with its overall benchmark standing. The 0.4% delta against the RX Vega 56 in synthetic tests does not translate directly to identical gaming performance, but the measured FPS data shows the RTX 4070 handling the game at playable levels across most resolution and settings combinations, with only 4K Ultra falling below 40 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth. It launched with an MSRP of $799.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5950X achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. Geekbench results show 15233 multicore and 2083 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 45424, with a single-thread score of 3470. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 10810, while the max-threads test reaches 11597. These scores place the CPU at the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 51947.

Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX at 52073 (-0.2%), the AMD EPYC 8124P at 52121 (-0.3%), the Intel Core i9-13900F at 51730 (0.4%), and the Intel Core i7-14700 at 52301 (-0.7%). The 5950X is essentially tied with these processors, with all deltas within 0.7% of each other.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's contribution is less visible in the measured data because the frame rates scale so heavily with GPU settings. However, the high single-thread performance — 1614 in Cinebench R23 and 2083 in Geekbench — ensures that the processor does not become a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low delivers 152 FPS indicates the 5950X can feed the RTX 4070 with sufficient draw calls and game logic updates to sustain high frame rates.

The 16-core configuration provides substantial headroom for background tasks and streaming, though Red Dead Redemption 2 is not known for heavily threading across many cores. The 64 MB L3 cache helps with the game's open-world data streaming, reducing the frequency of memory fetches. The PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has adequate bandwidth for texture and geometry data transfer.

The 5950X's position in the 91st percentile of all CPUs means it outpaces the vast majority of processors in the database. Its nearest rival deltas show that the Intel Core i9-13900F is only 0.4% faster in average benchmark score, making these CPUs functionally equivalent for gaming workloads where the GPU dominates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU-GPU combination in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 152 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 113 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it is 75 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, at 4K the system achieves 75 FPS on Low, 56 FPS on Medium, 47 FPS on High, and 34 FPS on Ultra. The Medium and High presets offer playable frame rates above 45 FPS, while Ultra dips below 40 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, placing it at the 81st percentile. It is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla P4, 0.4% faster than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 1.3% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, and 1.3% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO W6400.

Q: What is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 152 FPS while Ultra produces 68 FPS, a difference of 84 FPS or a 123.5% improvement when switching from Ultra to Low.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5950X bottleneck the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 152 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the GPU remains the primary constraint. The 5950X's single-thread score of 1614 in Cinebench R23 and 2083 in Geekbench provide ample processing power for the game's logic.

Q: How does the 5950X rank against other CPUs in the database?

A: The 5950X is at the 91st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, is 0.2% faster, while the Intel Core i9-13900F is 0.4% faster, making them statistically equivalent.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as the minimum acceptable average, the data suggests the following presets. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 152, Medium at 114, High at 95, and Ultra at 68. The Ultra preset is the best choice at 1080p if visual fidelity is the priority, since it remains above 60 FPS with a 68 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 113 FPS, Medium delivers 85 FPS, and High delivers 71 FPS, all above 60. The Ultra preset drops to 51 FPS, which falls short of the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 1440p offers the best balance, providing 71 FPS while retaining most of the visual quality improvements over Medium.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 75 FPS and Medium at 56 FPS are viable for 60 FPS gameplay. The Medium preset at 56 FPS is below the target but may be acceptable for players willing to tolerate slight frame rate dips. The High preset at 47 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay, though they may suffice for screenshot purposes or slower-paced segments.

The Medium preset at 4K provides the best compromise, with a 56 FPS average and a measured range of 48 to 64 FPS. This means the game will occasionally dip below 50 FPS but also exceed 60 FPS in less demanding scenes. For players prioritizing frame rate consistency, the Low preset at 4K guarantees 75 FPS with no minimum FPS data suggesting instability.

Overall, the recommended presets are Ultra at 1080p, High at 1440p, and Medium at 4K. These selections maximize visual quality while maintaining average frame rates as close to 60 FPS as possible. The one exception is 4K Medium, which sits at 56 FPS, but the 48 FPS minimum indicates the game remains playable even during demanding sequences.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in Red Dead Redemption 2.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 152 FPS average
• Medium: 114 FPS average, with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS
• High: 95 FPS average
• Ultra: 68 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 113 FPS average
• Medium: 85 FPS average, with a minimum of 72 FPS and maximum of 97 FPS
• High: 71 FPS average
• Ultra: 51 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 75 FPS average
• Medium: 56 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 64 FPS
• High: 47 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

The Medium preset at each resolution includes minimum and maximum frame rate data, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 34 FPS from minimum to maximum, while at 1440p Medium the spread is 25 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 16 FPS. This tightening of the frame rate range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU workload becomes more consistent as pixel count increases, likely due to reduced CPU involvement in frame generation.

The overall combination ranks 889th out of 3714 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the top 24% of all recorded system results. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the RTX 4070 and 5950X pairing, though it also indicates that many higher-end configurations exist in the database that outperform this setup.

The data confirms that Red Dead Redemption 2 scales predictably across resolutions and settings for this hardware combination. The GPU is the clear performance limiter, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecks even at the highest frame rates measured. Players seeking maximum visual quality should choose Ultra at 1080p, while those prioritizing smooth 4K gameplay should select Medium settings.