Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a compelling but nuanced performance profile in Red Dead Redemption 2. The data shows a system that is unequivocally GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals the CPU’s substantial headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) to understand how this combination scales and where its strengths lie.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation is steep, indicating a significant GPU bottleneck. At the Low settings preset, the system achieves an average of 216.8 FPS at 1920x1080. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 158.2 FPS, a reduction of 27%. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 107.7 FPS, which is a further 32% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings results in a total performance loss of roughly 50%, suggesting that while the RTX 4090 is immensely powerful, the pixel count at 4K begins to saturate its capabilities.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when examining the Ultra preset. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 97.5. This drops to 73.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a 24% decrease, and then to 49.5 FPS at 3840x2160, a 33% decrease from the 1440p result. The absolute delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution is telling. At 1080p, the difference is 119.3 FPS (216.8 vs 97.5). At 4K, this gap narrows to 58.2 FPS (107.7 vs 49.5). This compression of the performance envelope at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting component; the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes less relevant as the rendering load on the RTX 4090 increases. The system’s capacity to deliver high refresh rates is reserved for lower resolutions, while 4K gaming with maximum settings will firmly cap the experience at standard 60Hz display territory.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing sits in the upper echelon. The data places this combo at rank 36 out of 1687 tested combinations. This percentile placement—roughly the top 2% of all configurations—indicates that users can expect near-top-tier performance, though a handful of other setups deliver higher average frame rates. The ranking reflects a balance where the Ryzen 9 7900X’s processing power complements the RTX 4090, but it is not the absolute pinnacle for this specific title. The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 93 among all processors in the broader benchmark suite, and the GPU holds a percentile rank of 91 among all graphics cards. While these are strong individual scores, the in-game rank of 36 suggests that other factors, such as memory configuration or specific driver optimizations, might allow other combos to edge ahead. This is a high-performance pairing, but not the definitive top-tier solution for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant force in this configuration, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates. The card features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This substantial bandwidth and capacity prevent any form of VRAM bottleneck in Red Dead Redemption 2, even at 4K with Ultra textures. The GPU's clock speeds are also notable, with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These high frequencies allow the 16,384 shading units to operate at peak efficiency, directly contributing to the high FPS figures observed at 1080p and 1440p. The card’s raw compute power, rated at 82.58 TFLOPS FP32, is what enables the system to push beyond 200 FPS at 1080p Low settings. However, the data shows that this power is finite; the 49.5 FPS average at 4K Ultra indicates that the card’s pixel throughput and texture rate (1,290.2 GTexel/s) are severely taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity. The RTX 4090’s role is to provide an overwhelming amount of headroom at lower resolutions, which is progressively consumed as the resolution scales up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset provides a granular view of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates exceptional capability. The Low preset yields an average of 216.8 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset still delivers a very high 162.8 FPS, while the High preset achieves 135.6 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 97.5 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for smooth gameplay. The progression shows a 54.2 FPS drop from Low to Medium, and a further 27.2 FPS drop from Medium to High, indicating a consistent scaling cost for each tier of graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. The Low preset averages 158.2 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium drops to 119.1 FPS, and High to 99.9 FPS, remaining above the 60 FPS sweet spot. The Ultra preset, however, falls to 73.9 FPS. This is playable but represents a 24% decrease from the High preset, signaling that 1440p Ultra begins to stress the GPU significantly.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limits become apparent. The Low preset is the only one that breaks the 100 FPS barrier, achieving 107.7 FPS. The Medium preset averages 78.5 FPS, and High drops to 66.7 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 49.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. This data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo is feasible only with reduced settings; the High preset offers a borderline experience, while Ultra requires a sacrifice in frame rate that many users will find unacceptable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice. The 97.5 FPS average is high enough to take full advantage of a 100Hz or 144Hz monitor, and the visual fidelity gains over the High preset are substantial. The system has enough headroom that the performance cost of Ultra is not prohibitive.

For 2560x1440 displays, the High preset offers the best balance. The 99.9 FPS average is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, delivering a fluid experience. While the Ultra preset at 73.9 FPS is playable, the 26 FPS drop is a significant cost for the marginal visual improvements. The Medium preset at 119.1 FPS is an option for those prioritizing frame rate above all else, but High provides the superior combination of image quality and smoothness.

For 3840x2160 displays, the recommendations are more constrained. The Medium preset, averaging 78.5 FPS, provides the most balanced experience, ensuring gameplay remains fluid above 60 FPS. The High preset at 66.7 FPS is also viable for those who prefer higher fidelity and can tolerate frame rates near the 60 FPS mark. The Ultra preset should be avoided, as the 49.5 FPS average falls below the acceptable threshold for most users. The Low preset, while achieving 107.7 FPS, sacrifices too much visual quality for a 4K experience. The data suggests that for 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, and users must compromise on settings to achieve playable frame rates.