Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 produces a fascinating split personality in Red Dead Redemption 2. At 1080p, the combination delivers smooth, playable frame rates across most presets, but the data reveals a dramatic collapse as resolution climbs. The measured results show a system that is clearly capable at mainstream resolutions yet struggles to maintain even 30 FPS at 4K Ultra, suggesting a delicate balance between the mobile CPU's 16 cores and the GPU's 8 GB GDDR7 memory. This analysis digs into the measured FPS data to determine the optimal settings, contextualize the combo's ranking, and explore which component becomes the limiting factor at each resolution tier.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 95 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations. However, the Medium preset achieves 71 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, offering a significantly better visual quality while still maintaining comfortable performance above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset drops to 59 FPS average, barely missing the 60 FPS mark, which makes Medium the sweet spot for 1080p gaming on this combination.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset produces 71 FPS average, which is identical to the 1080p Medium result and remains smooth. The Medium preset yields 53 FPS average with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 61 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. High drops to 44 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS average. For 1440p, the Low preset is the recommended choice for maintaining fluid gameplay, though users willing to accept some frame dips may find Medium acceptable at 53 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset delivers 47 FPS average, which is the best 4K result, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. Medium manages 35 FPS average with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS, while High drops to 29 FPS and Ultra bottoms out at 21 FPS. For 4K, Low is the only viable preset for playable performance, and even then, users should expect frame rates well below what the 1080p Low preset achieves.

The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p Medium or 1440p Low gaming. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p (95 to 71 FPS) represents a 24 FPS cost for improved visuals, which is a reasonable trade-off. At 1440p, the drop from Low to Medium (71 to 53 FPS) is 18 FPS, making Low the safer choice. The 4K results suggest that this GPU is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 1927 out of 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all possible hardware pairings. This ranking is notable given that the CPU itself sits in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU only reaches the 72nd percentile against all GPUs. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's modest rank strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this pairing.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 8945HX is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, with a delta of just 0.1% in favor of the AMD chip. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are 0.4% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.6% ahead. These minuscule deltas indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game — any of these processors would likely produce similar results when paired with the same GPU.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5060's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550, both sitting 0.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 0.8% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is 1.2% ahead. These are significant gaps compared to the CPU's rivals, reinforcing that the GPU's performance class is what determines this combo's ranking. The 1927th position out of 2902 combos means roughly one-third of tested configurations perform worse, but the GPU's modest percentile ranking limits the overall potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, with the Medium preset delivering 71 FPS average and the Low preset reaching 95 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 71 FPS, but higher presets drop below 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only manages 47 FPS.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K gaming?

A: The measured results indicate marginal 4K performance. The Low preset averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. Only Low approaches playability, and it still misses the 60 FPS target by a substantial margin.

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

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX is within 0.6% of its four nearest rivals in average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is 0.1% behind, the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are 0.4% behind, and the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.6% ahead. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 produces an average of 43 FPS, which is noticeably below the 60 FPS target. This suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher presets, even at the lowest resolution tested.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. Low averages 71 FPS while Medium averages 53 FPS, a drop of 18 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 45 FPS also indicates noticeable frame dips during demanding scenes.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1927 out of 2902 combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's 72nd percentile standing rather than the CPU's 95th percentile, highlighting the GPU as the performance limiter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression from Low to Ultra. The Low preset achieves 95 FPS average, which is the highest recorded score for this combo. Medium delivers 71 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS. High drops to 59 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 24 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 12 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 16 FPS. This pattern indicates diminishing returns as settings increase, with each preset tier costing more performance than the last.

At 2560x1440, the trend continues but with lower absolute values. Low averages 71 FPS, Medium averages 53 FPS (minimum 45 FPS, maximum 61 FPS), High averages 44 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 18 FPS, between Medium and High is 9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 12 FPS. The 1440p Medium result exactly matches the 1080p High result at 53 FPS, suggesting that the resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p at Medium costs roughly the same as the preset increase from High to Medium at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal. Low averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS (minimum 30 FPS, maximum 40 FPS), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The differences are 12 FPS between Low and Medium, 6 FPS between Medium and High, and 8 FPS between High and Ultra. The 4K Low result of 47 FPS is actually lower than the 1440p Low result of 71 FPS, demonstrating the significant cost of the resolution increase.

The complete dataset shows that the RTX 5060 struggles most at 4K, where even the lowest settings barely reach playable frame rates. The 1080p results are the most usable, with three of the four presets (Low, Medium, High) achieving 59 FPS or better. The 1440p results are mixed, with only Low exceeding 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component. At the Low preset, the average FPS goes from 95 at 1080p to 71 at 1440p to 47 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24 FPS (a 25% reduction), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is another 24 FPS (a 34% reduction). At the Medium preset, the progression is 71 to 53 to 35 FPS, with drops of 18 and 18 FPS respectively. At High, it's 59 to 44 to 29 FPS, with drops of 15 and 15 FPS. At Ultra, it's 43 to 32 to 21 FPS, with drops of 11 and 11 FPS.

This scaling pattern is telling. At lower presets (Low and Medium), the resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs more FPS than the increase from 1440p to 4K, as a percentage of the starting value. At higher presets (High and Ultra), the absolute FPS drops are smaller but the percentage losses are steeper. This behavior suggests that at higher resolutions and presets, the GPU is heavily saturated, and the 8 GB VRAM capacity may also be a factor at 4K with higher settings.

The fact that 4K Low (47 FPS) is barely half of 1080p Low (95 FPS) indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being pushed to their limits. The RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB GDDR7 memory are likely insufficient for smooth 4K operation in this demanding title. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is unlikely to be the limiting factor at 4K, as the workload becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The resolution scaling data implies that 1080p is the native sweet spot for this combo, with 1440p being a stretch that requires lower settings, and 4K being largely impractical except at the lowest preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX brings substantial processing power to this pairing. With 16 cores and 32 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz, this Zen 4 architecture processor is designed for heavy multi-threaded workloads. Its cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 64 MB of L3 total. The 5 nm process node from TSMC keeps power consumption at 55 W TDP, which is modest for a 16-core mobile chip.

The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its strength. In Cinebench R23, it achieves 42713 multi-core and 6030 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 51405, with a single-thread score of 3907. These numbers place the CPU in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance. The nearest rivals are extremely close, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX within 0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 0.6% ahead.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The combo's ranking of 1927 out of 2902 is far below what the CPU's percentile would suggest, indicating that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios. At 1080p Low (95 FPS), the CPU is likely capable of feeding the GPU adequately. At 1080p Medium (71 FPS) and below, the CPU's 16 cores provide ample headroom for the game's simulation and AI workloads.

However, the CPU's high single-thread performance (6030 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is relevant for this game's engine, which may rely on fewer threads for certain tasks. The 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-core responsiveness, which helps maintain frame pacing even when the GPU is under heavy load. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested resolution or preset, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the more constrained component in this pairing. It features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with a base clock of 2280 MHz and boost clock of 2497 MHz. Its 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores support the Blackwell 2.0 architecture's features, but the 8 GB VRAM is modest by modern standards.

The GPU's benchmark scores show its mid-range positioning. In PassMark G3D, it scores 20891, with a PassMark GPU Compute score of 10899. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3628. The GPU sits in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon 860M (0.3% behind), NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (0.3% behind), AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (0.8% behind), and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (1.2% ahead). These rivals are all in the same performance class, confirming the RTX 5060's mid-range status.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's limitations become evident at higher resolutions and presets. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a constraint at 4K with High or Ultra settings, where the game may require more than 8 GB of memory for textures and geometry. The 128-bit memory bus, while providing respectable bandwidth for its class, limits the GPU's ability to feed data at 4K resolutions.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU struggling most at 3840x2160, where even the Low preset only achieves 47 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU manages 95 FPS on Low but drops to 43 FPS on Ultra, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter as settings increase. The GPU's 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p gaming but insufficient for smooth 4K in this demanding title.

The GPU's modest VRAM capacity (8 GB) and memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) are the most likely explanations for the steep FPS drops at 4K. The combination of these factors, rather than the CPU's capabilities, determines the overall performance envelope of this system.